Such Sweet Sorrow
by LiveLoveLaugh
Summary: [Backstabbing Love sequel] In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men, Hinata and Naruto run into mishaps, Sasuke walks away, Shikamaru steps into marriage, Tenten and Ino make bets, Lee messes up, Shino speaks, and Neji needs a break. REVISING
1. Golden Words: 6:45 am

**Disclaimer:** Baby, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** (Sequel of Backstabbing Love) In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

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_Golden Words_: 6:45 am

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The dawning sun was rising, casting a golden gleam on the surface of the Hidden Leaf village.

He ran a hand through his wispy silver hair, yawning underneath his cozy face mask. Hatake Kakashi stretched his muscles and threw back his straight posture into a lazy slouched one. He threw on a green woolen robe and went into his tiny kitchen, filling a kettle of tap water from his sink faucet.

While the Copy Ninja waited for his water to boil on the stove, he slipped onto his comfy gray and blue patterned armchair, selecting an Icha Icha Paradise volume from his book shelves. He propped the orange novel in his fingerless gloved hands, giggling and blushing coyly when he read the mystery context from his book fetish.

He sensed someone outside his window before the person could tap on the glass. He cocked one eyebrow and glanced from the corner of his right eye. A shady dark figure stood crouched on top of his porch, staring with tense eyes within a trembling pale face.

"_K-Kakashi_…" he whispered uneasily.

"Naruto?" the masked shinobi replied, pulling up the window to let the blast of cool morning air enter within his small apartment, "What are you doing out here?"

The blonde climbed in with fidgeting movements, darting his inconstant electric blue eyes everywhere but his old teacher.

"What's going on…?" Kakashi asked, putting down his book and offered him a seat on his favorite chair. Uzumaki Naruto took it gratefully but he was nervously trying to see something that wasn't there.

"…Naruto…?"

"_She's going to find out_…" Naruto murmured with distress, gripping his hands together.

"Who's going to find out what?" Kakashi asked, a little surprised and curious.

"_She's going to know what I've done_…" the young man whispered with grief.

The older ninja looked at him questionably, "You're not making any sense, Naruto."

"She will find out about what I done every night," Naruto collapsed into a nervous wreck, making Kakashi stiffen. He bawled, he cried, "She's going to find out and she'll hate me for it! I KNOW IT! I shouldn't have done anything! But I knew for four months! I knew dammit I knew! And yet I could not tell her even though she was crying and crying outside the room—I just didn't do anything—now she's hurt and upset, she's stuck in her GODDAMN room! I'm so stupid! I AM SO FUCKING STUPID!"

"NARUTO!" Kakashi roared, snatching his subordinate's collar and pulling him down roughly on his seat before he rampaged like a madman in his house.

Goddamn it he would not have that when his collection of Icha Icha was stacked _so_ neatly.

The mustard-color haired tyke was crying, "I shouldn't have stood there idly! I should've told her when I had the chance!"

"Naruto…you're not dropping enough hints…" Kakashi muttered awkwardly, sitting next to his crouched form on his carpeted floor.

"…Kakashi…I had so many chances—a thousand at least! She won't forgive me…I-I can't even forgive _myself_…" Naruto spoke mournfully.

The atmosphere around was intense, the sun slowly came up like rising orb of glowing fire that burned auburn and gold through the small glass windows in his old teacher's apartment. The heat glare soon set up to the backs of their necks.

"I had to do it, _I had to_," the fox boy whispered desperately, his eyes dilated and his entire body was sweating bullets, "If you were in my shoes and you knew about _them_—_this_—what would you have done? TELL ME!"

"I'm not so sure what you're talking about, Naruto…have you done something to Hinata…?" Kakashi asked worriedly. He did not want Kurenai kicking his ass in this lovely morning for bad teaching.

"I don't know, I don't know, _I know nothing!_" Naruto screeched, grabbing full his head, "I must have! Hinata was crying and pleading for Ino to stop fighting with Shikamaru—Her beautiful eyes must have been _red_—and I was sitting there like an IMBECILE! And when the four of us were in there, the other two were outside clawing each other to fleshy bits! It was horrible, the waiting, the anticipation, THEY WANTED TO KILL HIM and I could not…say anything…"

"When did that happen? I thought you were having dinner with Sasuke and Sakura…?" the one-eyed Sharingan holder's mouth quirked a little remembering his little flower who was ranting on and on about the special get-together yesterday.

He would have laughed seeing them smile and laugh over sake and sweet dango. It just bought back some good memories before the entire Orochimaru fiasco rolled in. It's been too long, besides they all deserve a break or two.

It was good for the kids in Team Seven to hang out—

"Kakashi…" Naruto's electrical blue eyes were blurred with sad awful tears, "S-Sasuke-teme a-and Sakura-chan a-aren't t-together a-anymore…"

The only sounds they could hear was the steam whishing from the kettle spout.

**

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**

"_We broke up_…Sasuke and I aren't together anymore…as of last night…" Haruno Sakura replied faintly, trying to hold on the last bits of strength she had had with her when she bravely ended things between her past love and herself. Her stupid, childish twelve year old self.

It was the past, today was the present. She wasn't going to be that girl on the bench anymore. No more would her foolishness take her away from the truth of reality. And in the present, she was Haruno Sakura, a respectable kunoichi with the strength and beauty to conquer the world.

Because of Hyuuga Hinata, she was certain she could become more beautiful like a blossoming flower.

Thanks to Yamanaka Ino, she was able to be stronger and more confident, and she was more than able to lift up her bigger-than-average forehead.

Looking her two roommates gave her the new shine, the new glow that surrounded her entire body. That made her the new _her_.

She was waiting patiently, though a little impatient (Can you blame her?), just waiting for their faltered faces and their astonished cries. It probably go on for hours with the weeping and pity they would most definitely give her. They would ask her questions why Sasuke made her so terribly upset and why she break up with him, and how did it all happen. But just talking Watanabe Ami and her ex boyfriend would bring back stomach churning feelings. She did not really mind though.

Bring on the drama and the box of Kleenex.

"And?" Ino asked.

Though that was not the answer anyone was expecting.

"What?" Sakura said, her eyes wide.

Hinata kicked her foot against her blonde's heel, sending her a _look_.

"Wow…uh…I thought I would expect more emotion…" Sakura asked rhetorically, lowering her eyebrows in a confused expression.

"Oh sorry—_AND!_" Ino cried, exaggerating.

The pink-haired woman looked startled, none the less just ignored her friend's weird behavior, "Uh…well, I suppose I can tell you the details…"

'_Even though we hear every single bit of it_,' ran into the girls' minds.

**

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**

"Where's that Uchiha?" Hyuuga Neji muttered angrily. He did not tolerate tardiness.

"How the hell am I supposed to know, Hyuuga!" Inuzuka Kiba snarled, tapping his sandaled foot on the dirt ground. His giant grown-up nin-dog Akamaru growled impatiently.

Nara Shikamaru just grunted and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He leaned against the rough bark tiredly with light bags under his dark eyes. The muffled screaming and quarreling with his soon-to-be-wife was not a good way to spend a night at her apartment. Of course he had always had other ideas what to do with her and her bed—but that wasn't the point.

It was just so troublesome that he forgot about the mission the next day—_come on!_ Who ever heard of four Elite Hidden Leaf Jounins escorting an overweight greedy feudal lord from his damn palace to geisha house five blocks over!—but he felt a little guilty leaving Ino alone in the apartment with two weepy teammates and a freezer stuffed with what seemed like a thousand low-fat low-calorie sugar-free organic ice cream buckets.

Damn her terrible habits.

And that fucker Sasuke.

"_You can't really blame him…_" Shikamaru whispered to himself quietly at first, until the other shinobi heard him.

"What?" Kiba piped, raising a rough brow up into his shaggy brown hair. Neji listened inattentively, without reacting in the slightest bit.

Might as well tell them before they go rampaging through the village streets, and tearing up the place to look for that bastard—who clearly was now twelve minutes and seven seconds late…wouldn't their separation already have been heard by now?

"Eh, Uchiha broke up with Sakura-san, not like it's a big deal—"

"THEY WHAT!" Kiba, Akamaru, even (amazingly) Neji exclaimed—since when did he understand _dog?_

"_Troublesome…_" Shikamaru muttered to himself, his slender brows furrowed.

**

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**

**To Be Continued**

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	2. Silver Lining: 11:03 am

**Disclaimer:** Baby, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_

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_**

_Silver_ Lining: 11:03 am

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The affair between Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke was _so_ overwhelming. It had put an impact on everyone's day and so over told that everyone around them would tell one and other that they heard from Sakura herself about when she dumped Sasuke because he told her she was fat.

Even some gossip made-believes consisted him practicing his Katon near her apartment and had accidentally burning it. Even some had Sakura decided to want more popularity amongst the other young men but breaking up with the most handsome guy in all of the Fire Countries. Some whisperers had exaggerated a little and said that Sakura had threw him out of the window, some even _witnessed_ the fight they had in one part of the village, others had said Sasuke broke up with her, some cocky men had even said that Sasuke had to break up with her when she was caught in bed with one of them, and more so, some of the most boldest had pulled one of Sakura's very close friends into their gathering gossiping groups and forced them to tell them _everything_.

But everything that Ino had said to the crowd had always started with a deadly fiery intense glare and at the end with her clutched fist connected to someone's nose, which made everyone back off.

Sakura sighed sadly when endless phone calls came from everywhere around the Hidden Leaf from men who wanted her for dates and more, but none of them could compare to the one she had from her mother Haruno Junko who was screaming through the line with millions of terrifying old maid or spinster cook stories and how she'll never have _grandchildren_—she hastily pulled the phone cord and just went elsewhere before people started knocking on her door to see the supposed tear stains on her red puffy face.

You'll never know when the words of your biggest event in your life have spread across your village.

_Shall we find out how it had all spread?_

First it was Shikamaru, who told his teammates Kiba and Neji (and Akamaru), who Kiba had told his older sister and Akamaru had told the rest of the ninja dogs in the Inuzuka Household, who in turn told their owners, Hana (Older sister of Kiba) had told their mother Inuzuka Etsuko who told her best friend Aburame Kiku, who told her husband Saito and to his old colleague Hyuuga Hiashi, who asked Hinata, who was flustered and accidentally spoke too loud, which spread to her nosy sister Hanabi who was screaming about it throughout the entire Hyuuga Estate, every Byakugan member went off into their own business and told their friends, which spread to Neji who immediately closed the door on the young girl and growled about it near his window, which was overheard by their Genin gardener, Geppetto, who ran to tell his neighbor Koharu, a member in the Konoha Board of Elders, who shockingly cried it to the rest of the members who boasted it straight to Kotetsu and Izumo, who were both Elite Chuunin Messengers had boringly told it to the sleeping drooling Godaime Hokage herself, who woke up abruptly and told visiting Jiraiya who grinned wickedly as he went to the village escort house to tell the young women there, and Slug-Sannin Tsunade had also angrily screamed at it to Shizume who blushingly told Genma who in turn told Morino Ibiki, who rolled his eyes and whispered it sadistically towards his younger brother at brunch, who couldn't keep a secret to save his life and exclaimed it to a pack of his racing friends, who was eavesdropped on by Rock Lee (who spluttered on his drink) and Tenten, who was actually relieved not to hear any more Gai-sensei-is-so-great stories, who the two told Neji instantly who shut the door on them as quickly, then moved onto the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha, Maito Gai, who did his Good Guy Pose to everyone around him, who eventually was overheard by Sarutobi Asuma and his nephew Konohamaru, who ran away to tell snot-nose Udon and adorable Moegi who laughed about it in front of the Closet-Pervert Ebisu who told the same off-color joke to flirt with attractive Yuuhi Kurenai who murmured it to her subordinate Shino (who had in fact in no interest of it), but told it to a few of his Kikai Bugs who had scattered around the village, and telling more of the Inuzuka nin dogs (the mutts that didn't know) and had told other ninja pets, like Pakkun and his buddy search dogs, who told it to passing (yet stuffing potato chips in his mouth) Akimichi Chouji who just ate and walked simultaneously while all around him everyone was talking about the biggest gossip of their lives…

Oh, and the fastest messenger falcon from the Sand Village, had received a letter written by Tsunade who was signing contract papers with the Kazekage (but had very accidentally and absentmindedly had written down on the corner of the paper of a small scribbled note of what happened in Konoha), who in turn had Gaara-sama blinking a few times before whispering it nonchalantly to his older brother Kankuro who choked on his curry rice and cursed about it to Temari before she left for the mission in Konohagakure with Baki and the rest of her team, who was evidently was going to visit Shikamaru there…

Soon everyone in the Sand Village knew then later it was gossiped in the Hidden Cloud, the Hidden Stone, the Hidden Mist, the rest of the Five Countries and more of the other non-shinobi villages, towns, and cities. Everywhere and everyone with their own made-up storylines of what they thought had happened that had included youkai, dragons, water sprites, and the burst of fairy lights was all layered in between the unknown truth.

"How _pathetic_…" the Nara lazyass growled irritatingly when the first twelve words had seeped through his mouth had caused this crazy line of gossips and made-believe stories, "What the hell have I done…?"

No sooner would his fiancé's fist connect with his blabbering mouth.

* * *

"_Look at me_…" she whispered disappointedly to herself, staring shamefully at her foggy oval steel metal-framed mirror. She fiercely untangled her dark hair with an old ivory brush from her sink drawer covered with assorted dried pasty lipstick spots. She fumbled with the silk draw strings around her robe and had snagged on the fabric of her black camisole with her chipped red polished fingers.

It was the late afternoon when Watanabe Ami walked out of her tiny bathroom with mascara-smudged eyes and her flimsy black robe fell down her pale shoulders and exposing more of her naked skin. Her small-proportional apartment was glowing sunny yellow through her blinded windows, as she walked across the wooden planks of her floor. She trended quietly into her bedroom.

She sighed lightly, leaning against her doorframe.

There he was. There he is. Uchiha Sasuke was sleeping peacefully on her bed with his waist covered with the stained sheets from last night's activity, bearing his tough solid chest to the world to see but only she had the pleasure to see all of it. _And he had never stayed for the night._

She gasped at the hurt pain in her chest. Ami could not forget what happened last night.

Actually no one would have forgotten if the person they were having intimacy with had said another person's name.

She was stupid. _So very stupid._

She looked upon the beauty of Sasuke, remembering the childhood times when she admired his strength, good looks, and intellect that won the hearts of every female in the shinobi world. She grew jealous over the years of girls who had grown close to her, one by the name of Haruno Sakura.

That **bitch**. _That fucking rotten Big Forehead Bitch._ No matter how many times she tried to lower that pink-haired slut's spirits, there…there was always some way that lunatic would find a way to break out of the demeanor.

Hadn't she done enough! First being in his three-man team, next to get Sasuke's trust and care to become his closest friend, to the girl in his heart as well as in his mind, to be the only one he thought about, to be the only name Sasuke whispered through the orgasmic pleasure that Ami _herself_ was giving HIM!

He did not care about her. He did not love her. He used her as she used Sakura. Everything had backfired, from all the planning— _four months_ of wasted time of trying to break through his thick skull!

She could have fallen for anyone, anyone with power and wealth, good looks and charm, but instead Ami had fallen for Sasuke.

**And she fell hard. **

So hard. Harder, faster, deeper, and violently crashed into the collision on the black ground of the unmerciful sun-baked tar, grinding deeper into the gravel and the jagged-edged stones, the dirt creamed muddily into her hair and scraping the very flesh off her ribcage, her blood washed over the rough painful tunnel her crippled body had created. Her bones trapped her naked black heart that tried to capture the light she needed. _That she wanted._ Through the years she had never ever would have fallen so desperately for someone who had someone else in mind and heart.

Ami would just use men for her own pleasure, in turn watching in amusement as couples, one pair after another would fall apart in the pathway Ami had made on her own that she goes on in life until she runs into a brick wall where she tried to break through, scratch off, scamper over, dig underground, run to the left or right just to get around, but nothing would work.

She was physically stuck.

It was crazy. It was totally insane. No matter how many times she tried to convince and persuade Sasuke, he isn't going to return the feelings back.

The light she wanted wasn't going to found in Sasuke.

Because he was always going to be the darkness that chose a specific star in the nightly clearing.

_Sakura._

Why her? Why _her_? Why did she get to be the _one_? The one that Sasuke loved.

Ami had torn through the threads between Sakura and Sasuke. It hurt Sakura like blazing fires of thousand hells. It was over with the two. _She got what she wanted. _

She was satisfied.

**But this wasn't the satisfaction she had desired. **

Tears rolled out of her dull brown eyes, she wanted to grasp onto the single moment before he wakes up and leaves.

And she knew…_she had to leave it at that…_

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**To Be Continued**

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_Please review! Thank you!_


	3. Dull Crystal: 12:22 pm

**Disclaimer:** Honey, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

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Dull _Crystal_: 12:22 pm

* * *

In a normal average family, there is the man of the house, the wife, and their children. Life was good.

In the Haruno family, there is the father named Haruno Saburo, who is a retired shinobi and currently resides in a wheelchair for the last twelve years when both of his legs were paralyzed during a mission, now that he brings in the bacon by doing paperwork in the Hokage's Tower and by tending to the vegetable and flower garden around the house. His wife Haruno Junko works as both a housewife and a waitress in a local restaurant. Their only child, who is also a Hidden Leaf shinobi, was the infamous Haruno Sakura who _dumped_ Uchiha Sasuke.

Well…_that seemed to be about it_…

"Mom! It's not like I _murdered_ him!" Sakura exclaimed disbelievingly, throwing down her napkin on her porcelain plate.

"I-I just still don't believe that you let go of such a g-gentleman!" Junko cried over the table, shifting a mass of brown hair over one ear, "You know how I feel about all the young men you dumped because-because you couldn't _cooperate_ with them!" the older woman snorted, twirling her chopsticks in the lunch meal she made.

"All those other boys I dated were like—_boys_! I didn't love them! Why are you making such a big deal about Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, placing her hands on her hips as she stood angrily over the dining table across from her parents.

Saburo sipped green tea from his clay cup. The pink-haired man stayed silent and said nothing when the two women bitched at each other.

"Because I believe he's a fine man!"

"Ha! After all the things you said about him being a traitor I didn't expect all this change from you!"

"Honey, you're going to become an old maid if you don't find a man!"

Sakura scowled, running her slender fingers through her pink hair frustratingly, "I AM SO SICK OF THIS! Why do I need a man in my life anyway!"

"What ever happened to the love you had for Sasuke? Didn't you love him?"

"That's not the point! I just—I just—"

"You just what, Sakura? Please explain why you two had to part!"

"_You don't want to know!_" she didn't want them to know, or anyone else to know, "Besides we're not together anymore!"

"But he was your friend—"

"—who's now only a friend!"

"After this break-up, I'm not so sure about the friendship!" Junko scoffed, shooting a look at her quiet husband, "I mean I heard from our neighbors that you two were quarreling outside in the streets—dear why the streets! And you threw his clothes at him—I mean I would suspect a young lady like you to not throw kunais and knives too—"

Sakura gawked, hearing this lie, "MOM! We did no such thing!"

Saburo had a grim look on his face.

"Oh _please!_" Junko snapped ragingly, almost teary-eyed, "I heard all these things from everyone! At least don't let the ENTIRE VILLAGE know! You know how I feel about these things—God! Sakura at least break up with the man before you go sleeping around with—"

"**MOM!**" she screamed furiously. She did no such thing! "_I didn't sleep around with other men!_ That is a terrible lie!"

"_Where there's smoke, there's fire!_" the brunette growled heatedly, slamming her hand on the table top shaking up the plates of savories, unclean plates, and empty rice bowls, "Do you have any idea how humiliated I was! Upon hearing all these things from my customers and my boss—Dammit Sakura I could have lost my job!"

Sakura squealed irritatingly, "THOSE ARE ALL LIES! I cannot believe you would trust the words of strangers than your own daughter!"

"Look at you! Just LOOK AT YOUR SELF!" her mother screamed irately, shooting her pointer finger at the middle of her daughter's emerald eyes.

The pink-haired kunoichi stared awestruck at Junko's face and trembling finger. Sakura had no idea how old her mother looked right now with the skinny streaks of gray through her fluffy brown hair, the wrinkles that formed on her forehead, and the weak tears that ran down the sallow cheeks of the over-worked woman. The delicate youthful beauty of her mother's was slowly disappearing. She knew how Junko had put up with the gossips of her handicapped husband from other civilian women who cared only about what their men liked about their hair styles or the meals they cooked for them.

But for Haruno Junko to have an _only_ child, who not only was a kunoichi which was frowned upon in the village women's cause, but to also becoming a rotting old maid who threw away the most valuable man in all of the Fire Countries.

Saburo did not speak.

"Look at yourself Sakura! You are almost nineteen years old and still—_still_ you haven't gotten a husband or at least a fiancé like your friend Ino or a boyfriend that you didn't _dump_ yet like that Hyuuga heiress!" Junko wept bitterly, pointing out her daughter's flaws that the entire Konohagakure had taken into detail. "It's already bad enough that my only child is dreaming of becoming a kunoichi with her damn head in the clouds—but you never took into consideration that you're not getting any younger! You need a _damn_ man in your life and I as hell will _find_ you one if you don't _feel_ like it!"

"Mom! If you're looking at me now—yes you're right! I'm not getting any younger!" Sakura exasperatingly was trying not to break something, "And I don't need you to guide me by the nose anymore!"

Saburo narrowed his eyes and his lips thinned.

"Guiding you by the nose is better than having you breaking the cartilage!" Junko shouted madly, "I would not have you roaming in the world going no where—"

"I AM GOING SOMEWHERE! I AM!" The roseate-haired woman proclaimed, throwing up her arms dramatically. She slammed them back on the table and stared at her own mother with fiery determined green eyes that sent a shiver up Junko's rigid spine, "If I were to break the cartilage at least with the skills I learned, I would know how to mend it in time. But mother…_I'm not a little girl any longer_…"

Seconds passed like minutes, with the two women glared at each other with intensity. Sakura's emerald eyes bored into Junko's deep gray ones while the pink-haired man who sat in the middle of all this stayed quiet and calm. Soon minutes came, but it felt like an eternity of hell.

**This was not a happy lunch.**

"_Get out of the house_…" Junko whispered tersely, trying not to break out into trauma and screams, "…_now_…"

She had no choice but to oblige.

Sakura gritted her teeth and threw her chopsticks gruffly on the table, and walked out of the dining room. She grabbed her bag from the closet and exited from the household. She won't be coming back for a long time.

Junko sucked in the breath she greedily took in, and tried to keep a cool demeanor while clearing up the table of leftovers and dishes. Saburo's teal eyes followed his wife's movements as he placed his finger tips together with his elbows propped on the armrests of his wheelchair. He looked through his long bangs of his short deep cherry tresses.

"She is going somewhere, you know that, right?" he replied nonchalantly, crossing his fingers together, "Being a kunoichi isn't as easy as it is…"

"You could've at least said something to your daughter, Saburo-kun!" Junko retorted, cutting him off but Saburo didn't think much into it. "You should have intervened in her behavior! Breaking up with Uchiha Sasuke is the last thing we want to hear under this roof—"

"She didn't love him anymore…why should I intervene…?"

Junko silently stacked the plates on top of another, glaring at her husband, "You're lucky you're in a wheelchair or _I'll drag you around by the nose!_"

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**To Be Continued**

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	4. Featherweight: 12:56 pm

**Disclaimer:** Sugar, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_AN_:** Thank you for reading and reviewing everyone!

Uh…well, I didn't think there were only about two or three people who reviewed who actually understood where this story was going. Readers _can_ put their pairing suggestions into this story (just not Magical Chakra or Backstabbing Love haha).

So far people want:

**NejiSaku**

**GaaraSaku**

**SasuSaku**

Any suggestions are _fine_ it just makes it easier for me to determine who Sakura would end up with. I just have a lot of ideas up my sleeve, catch my next update! And please enjoy this chapter, thank you!

_Featherweight_: 12:56 pm

"_Get out of my way…_" Sakura growled as loud as her stomach rumbled. Shikamaru kissed his teeth and moved aside for the pink-haired girl to reach for something in the refrigerator. His skeptical eyes followed her movements when she pulled out a carton of milk, several plastic containers of sliced honey-baked ham, salami, and turkey, salad leaves, jars of mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise, and parmesan cheese. She dumped the savories on the table unpleasantly, snatching the large loaf of bread and began to slice it into thick slices.

Crumbs were falling to the wooden floor, he noted, Ino would not be happy.

"Bad lunch eh?" Shika asked as he propped on the chair across from her and poured himself some milk into his glass.

"Hell yeah," Inner Sakura seeped through, gritting her chalk-white teeth that showed through the snarling drawn mouth.

"How did your folks take it?" his eyes moved at every meat and cheese she placed in her sandwich. Sakura stuffed a large knife into the jar of mayo and slopped a goop on.

She sighed, "My dad took it well, hell he didn't say anything while my mom was bitching at me through the entire thirty minutes I was there. And I left the house hungrier than before."

"_Really_," Shikamaru replied aloofly, tiredly sipping his dairy.

"Keh," she scoffed, mustering a giant gap between her lips as much as possible to take a huge angry bite from her meaty sandwich.

After a large swallow, Sakura wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as if she had forgotten all her manners causing a grimace in the Nara lazyass's composed face, "How was the mission for the daimyo?"

"Sucked big time, even worse when he asked us to stay," Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Ha, good luck explaining to Ino if she found out you were at a geisha house," the girl murmured sarcastically, eating her giant sandwich like a man and swiping her pink bangs over her ear.

"Nah, she's too busy with the wedding…" Which was too true. It took her what felt like a whole fortnight to realize she had a fiancé after he proposed to her.

"So how is the wedding planning? When is it going to be?"

"In six months, before Christmas of course," Shikamaru waved his hand side to side, with a dull look, "And that's all I know besides show up in a tux and tie, and be there on time before the clock strikes six pm."

Sakura muffled a laugh, "You'll get there alright, but I'll wonder if you even change out of your pajamas for your own wedding."

"Aha, very funny, very _troublesome_," Nara scowled, standing up with his empty glass covered with a thin sheet of milk froth and opened the sink faucet to wash it cleanly, which was surprisingly since he'd always left his mess after he leaves.

The rosy-haired kunoichi bit into her sandwich some more, savoring the salty taste of ham contrasting with the crisp tang of lettuce. Slowly as she ate, she became more satisfied. Sakura tried with all her might to push away the bad feelings of the afternoon, the morning, and yesterday night. She rolled back her shoulders after a hard time of lying black and blue on her soft mattress that turned out to be very hard, when she went to sleep last night.

**It was not a good night for her. **

Sakura went into deep depression for that split second before she snapped herself out of the reverie when her aggressive inner self began violently kicking the responsive lobe of her brain. '_Forget him! Forget him!_' Inner Sakura exclaimed enthusiastically, waving two red fans in front of her sleepy emerald eyes.

Strangely, and oddly, Shikamaru was very quiet all of a sudden. And he took a _pretty_ long time washing that cup.

She looked at the back of the Nara's head, the tightly bound portion of his dark hair that went out distinctively like a feather duster to the backs of his slightly tanned ears that were pierced with heavy silver loops, to the arch of his tan neck to the back of his Jounin vest. She noticed his ruggedness and rigid back when he tried to keep control of himself, instantly feeling her severe gaze surfaced upon him that could have left bruises.

Sakura propped her chin on her knuckles, staring at Shika with narrowed concentrated eyes. She grinned shortly, knowing she could _really_ release her stress with her best friend's fiancé. When he turned around, he raised a slender brow and everyone in Konoha would have noticed the nervous twitching corner of his right eye. A bead of sweat came down his tensely wrinkled bare forehead. If her looks can kill, it _will._

"_Yes?_" he ragged out, leaving the too clean glass in the sink.

Sakura frowned, "You told didn't you?"

Troublesome.

**Intermission**

"OH MY GOD! _Shika-kun!_ How did you get a black eye!" Ino cried, softly touching the corner of the dark circle that surrounded the left eye of her husband-to-be. Shikamaru winced when her fingers touched his tender wound, _damn Sakura_. The vicious pink-haired woman sat quietly across from the cute couple, yet stifling her smirking while she sipped her goosed drink.

"It was—it's nothing…" he muttered, his brow twitching irritatibly. Sakura choked on her drink from the giggling.

'_Choke dammit_,' he thought murderously.

He'll say it as he had said it before, women are damn sadistic bitches.

**To Be Continued**

_Just a funny moment, Shikamaru needed his punishment. It was too short, read the next chapter I updated. Thank you for reviewing! _


	5. Sake Drive: 7:34 pm

**Disclaimer:** Love, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_AN_:** Hoped everyone liked the short _Featherweight: 12:56 pm_, here's the continuing update!

Sake _Drive_: 7:34 pm

"She _could_ have just _slapped_ me, but _nooo_…she had to _punch_ me…" Shikamaru scowled at the giggling Tenten, who had let her hair down from the usual twin buns, while waiting for his drink at the bar, "You're lucky you're a woman, or I would have thrown my shadow on you."

"Oh _pwease_, _Shika-kun_," the weapon kunoichi cooed in the same baby voice Ino used on him not so long ago, "You have to admit your gossip got Sakura-san into a lot of trouble with her parents—_and_ the entire village—besides she had only wanted paid back."

"Hey! It's not my fucking fault that Kiba took it too far, I didn't expect it would be such a big deal!" the shadow shinobi scoffed, his eyes turned to the balding bartender who was wiping a sake bottle with a wet towel.

"Three sakes please," he said suddenly, ignoring the confused look on the older man's face when he was looking at the gray-blue bruise around Shikamaru's eye.

Tenten chuckled when the male Jounin snatched the white bottles away, "That many?"

"Yeah, first one's for the taste, second one is for the stress, and the third is for my shiner," he replied scowling his famous scowl, when the girl laughed behind him once they made it back for the table. Shikamaru sat down next to his blond girlfriend while drowning the first sake, tasting the scorching strong taste that stuck to his tongue and teeth. He sucked out his cavities and molars, shaking his head of the redness that soon surfaced on his pallid cheeks.

The new _Dakoun Baka-Haka_ Bar and Dance Club was the place where Shikamaru and Ino held their engagement party. Nothing too expensive or too fancy (No matter how much the woman complained to Nara), nothing too shabby or disgusting, it was all about tonight hanging out with their close friends with a couple of beers and sakes, a little dancing, listening to the Fire Country bands play music, get their groove on, and maybe for the singles to hook up.

"_This place is huge!_" Hinata said eccentrically, hiccupping.

The entire club was decorated with old holiday string lights that hung from corner to corner, criss-crossing across the ceiling in the dance floor shining different colored illuminations with the giant silver disco ball strung in the middle of the place. Long green stalks of exotic bamboo grew from black tiled platforms to form comforting landscaping sceneries that were hung with stuffed toy koala bears and cute smiling pandas that clung on each branch with their Velcro straps. The walls were painted midnight black and navy (The color of Shika's bruise for humors) which gave off the impression of shadows and the owner's gigantic framed photographs of buildings and pet dogs suspended on tacks covered with newspaper cutouts of models from the lingerie section.

The place was covered with artistic graffiti a professional had done, signifying drawings of elegant ladies with exaggerated body curves, tan tough-looking men with good hair and exaggerated muscles, long shiny cars, and cumbersome painted flames of red and orange.

The dance floor was a large square in front of the staging area, plastered with shiny metal plates that reflected the people who danced on top, also _excellent_ for the leering perverts to look upon women's skirts. The band that was playing with keyboards, electric guitars, and a metal drum set, sang out through the trance music that pumped out of the large black speakers on the podium. The singers wore scrunched-up traditional yukatas of many bright colors that were florescent in the dim lighting and flashy dressers through the dark outlines, banging on their piano keys, shaking their massive wigs, and the audience could hear the ripping of electric guitars that zipped through the chaotic air.

People, both civilian and shinobi, went to the _Baka-Haka_ every night to let out their stresses with sake, alcoholic drinks, and just to dance. Ino, dressed in a short skirt and blue blouse, was already jumping to the music with her snapping fingers and tapping heels. She and including her companions were able to untie their hitae-ates for just one night mixing into the crowds that gathered one by one in the humongous club.

The Yamanaka blonde persistently pulled on her fiancé's arm, "Come on Shika-kun, just one dance! It's to celebrate our engagement!"

"…_No_…" the man was only able to drill out that one drunken word, with his face was flushing by the sake's strong effect.

"**Nara Shikamaru! **I AM NOT YOUR MOTHER!" Ino screamed over the loud music, "You _lazyass!_ **GET UP!**"

"…_fine…fine_…" Shika got up while his girlfriend's strong hold on his arm tightened, and moved to the packed dance floor. The rest of the occupants on the table laughed and drowned their own drinks. Rock Lee leaned on the table edge with his bandaged elbow, tempted not to take a sip of sake before the Baka-Haka would be torn apart. He smiled easily in front of Sakura, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, and Shino (Who was doing nothing) while he tried to crack some jokes whilst he was the only one sober.

"—so this old man—right?—was walking to the store with a couple of bucks, then all of a sudden—"

"You already told that joke, loser!" Kiba grounded out, grinning out his canine teeth. He was also sober since there isn't an amount of sake to take him over.

"BY THE POWERS OF MY YOUTH I SHALL NOT FAIL TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER HILARIOUS JOKE FOR MY FRIENDS' NIGHTLY ENTERTAINMENT!" Lee did his Good Guy Pose, and sat back down drinking his punch.

Everyone else just sweat-dropped and continued talking.

Tenten elbowed Sakura on her arm, nodding towards to the bar, "Wanna go over there, ne…?" the brunette grinned, already brushing her tresses over her ear and applying more gloss on her lips. Sakura looked at the group of men who looked back at their table, nodding and smirking to one and other at the pretty girls.

"They're not bad-looking, I guess…" the medic-nin murmured.

"Not bad-looking! They're _gorgeous!_" Tenten giggled, unlike herself.

"I don't know…" Sakura trailed on, seeing that the alcohol in the weapon specialist's system had really spiked up her behavior.

"Don't be such a spoil sport!" Tenten murmured disappointedly, "You and I used to team up and flirt with boys before—"

"I know, I know," Sakura interrupted, pouring more of that intoxicating sake into her small cup, "But…I don't feel like it tonight…"

"Alright, alright…" Tenten smiled warmly, "I'll just be attractive by myself, see you around." And the woman left immediately to the group of young men who were ogling the kunoichi. Sakura silently tilted her sake cup and took it to her mouth hastily, bringing it back down when the addicting taste was left on her parted lips.

Rock Lee looked at the empty spot next to Sakura, "Where's Tenten-san?" He had obviously missed her leave.

"S-She went over there…" Hinata hiccupped, clapping a hand over her foul mouth embarrassingly. When Lee saw where his teammate was, he was stunned for a moment and left without a _youthful_ good-bye. After the moment when all the boastful laughing and noise Kiba was making about Lee's departure—_whatever it was about_, Sakura brushed the stray hairs from her face and missed the look Shino gave her behind his intimidating sunglasses. She drowned yet another cup of sake.

"S-Sakura m-may b-be you should hold your d-drink," Hinata stuttered, she herself had never drank so much.

"It's alright…" Sakura whispered raspy, pouring some more sake in her cup. Kiba gave her a grin.

"Yeah! Tonight is all about partying, right!" The Inuzuka member grinned wider, pouring more into his own bigger cup. He held it up towards Sakura.

"Come on Sakura! Have some cheers with me!" he exclaimed, not even noticing the hazy look in her eyes.

"What…are we celebrating about…?" she was having a hard time swallowing her saliva.

"Duh! About Ino and Shikamaru's engagement! And uh—oh yeah! _About you moving on!_" Kiba smiled, baring his white canine teeth, his deep red tattoos spread like eagle wings with his dynamite grin.

"_Kiba_…" Chouji warned, pressuring his words. The three other sane tablemates noticed that Sakura became grimmer while she still held up her sake cup.

Kiba laughed, his shoulders shaking a bit to spill his filled sake, "At least we all know you dumped the famous Uchiha Sasuke! He was a jerk wasn't he? Sometimes I wonder whether it was you who dumped his sorry ass or him who did it!"

"_Kiba_…_shut up_…" Chouji whispered tersely. So much for the mutt holding his liquor. Sakura lowered her chin down a fraction. Hinata looked worried, shooting her eyes back and forth.

"You have got to be the first girl I've seen that didn't love him anymore!" the Inuzuka member grinned bigger, sort of scarier. It was definite to everyone that Kiba was drunk, "_Dang_ did it come out in the blue? That must be amazing! You should teach the other Sasuke-teme-crazed chicks out there—hell, they need some loving if they still wait around for that jackass—"

"Kiba," a strong unwavering voice spoke out like a trembling streak through the air. Everyone turned to Shino who sat stilly and calmly, not even close to touching any drink. Inuzuka Kiba stopped talking, having a confused look on his face.

Surprisingly, Sakura forced herself to chuckle like nothing had happened the past seconds ago. She held up her sake cup high with slightly shivering fingers, urging herself to smile a marionette smile.

"You're right, you're so right, Kiba-san…" she said a bit loudly, Inner Sakura shook her head in shame as she watched her outer part force out the false side out of her.

"You're definitely right, huh? I did dump him because he was a jerk, thank you…" Sakura whispered tensely, her smile was twitching and the flush across her face showed hat she was getting drunk.

"To the Yamanaka-Nara wedding! And to ME and SASUKE-TEME'S breakup!" she dunked the cup to her lips and emptying the contents while the others watched her gravely.

**To Be Continued**

_Dakoun Baka-Haka_ means: Muddy Idiot's Grave. I _had_ to choose the name for the club, it was interesting, haha. _The way the club looked just came to my mind, it's kinda cool huh?_


	6. Momentary Displacement: 8:11 pm

**Disclaimer:** Baby, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_AN_:** Woo! So many reviews! Thank you!

Uh…here is what people want for the pairings:

**Sasuke and Sakura**

**Neji and Sakura**

**Gaara and Sakura**

**Itachi and Sakura**

**Kakashi and Sakura**

I haven't got a clue of what I want to choose, so everyone can still pick for it. I'm going to be playing around the field since Sakura would be exposed to all the single men in Konohagakure. A few of these choices would be hard to write, but I got enough ideas and outlines to write up the chapters. Here's an update! _Enjoy!_

_Momentary _Displacement: 8:11 pm

"These are three of your new teammates, filed into portfolios with candid shots, training and jutsu status. You'll make a good captain with these men, maybe even going forth of ANBU perhaps?" Tsunade passed the Jounin figure three separate neat and tidy cream-colored folders. He raised a brow, not really expecting the Godaime to clean up so well.

She leaned forward (Much to her large cleavage exposingmaking him cringe) with her hand cupped to the side of her smirking peach lips, whispering giddily, "I see that look in your face, I just got some puny Genins to shipshape up my office! Less work for me!" she giggled like a little girl, a behavior unheard of if one were to be Hokage of the Hidden Leaf.

Hyuuga Neji looked pitifully at her with his blinking silvery-white eyes, before saying his short farewell and walked relieved out of the office. He walked down the narrow tan carpeted hallway, with the folders in his right hand. He was ignoring everyone who passed by him, scurrying to close up the Tower before nine o'clock. He walked to where the elevators where, not even bothering to look where he was going.

It was a good thing he left so fast, just before that Legendary Sucker got him into betting on Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sempai's disturbing Jakkun competition. _Like that last time_…Neji shudder just thinking about something as foolish as that…

What was the score again…? Oh right, the great 103-104 in Kakashi's favor—**oomph!**

Something had collided against his calf, would have hurted _if were to have run over him!_ He was about give that son of a bitch a damn good Hyuuga-styled glare until he saw who bumped into him.

_And what it was sitting on…_

"Terribly sorry, young man." A deep fatherly voice was spoken, pulling his rubber metal wheels out of the genius of geniuses' way.

Neji was stunned for a moment just staring at this handicapped man's state. It was older middle-aged man with a head of short deep cherry tresses that covered over his analyzing teal eyes that stayed on one place to the next. He was seated relaxingly on a wheelchair with cushiony leather seat and brown armrests, clad in a navy long sleeved sweater, black trousers, and brown wicker sandals. In his lap was a giant stack of envelopes waiting to be delivered and a heavy khaki duffel bag.

The old man was lean with well-formed muscles on his arms and chest, like an old shinobi's—_no_ it can't be! He looked no more like a civilian, maybe even retired that way his face was composed with small growing wrinkles and gray streaks that went through his pink hair—

Wait, wait a minute—where did—who did that man reminded him of…? Who ever heard of a man with _pink_ hair…?

The older man coughed into his hand, looking up at the strong Jounin, "Can you press that button for me? I can't reach that far, apparently…" Neji could almost have noted that a spark of envy veiled the tired green eyes for a moment there, when he turned and pushed the plastic circle for _down_. Was he jealous of his youth or—

"Do you want to go in first?" the handicapped man asked politely, showing him a kind of neighborly kindness. Neji nodded and walked in, holding the elevator door for him. The man pushed his wheels exhaustingly, and roved around pushing a button for the lobby. _Exact stop…_

When the sliding doors closed, Neji kept to his own business, just staring at himself in the casting reflection of the metal walls. He fingered the papery touch of the folders in his right bandaged hand. Himself was wearing long grayish white robes tied with a long black obi, strapped on with his scroll and weaponry bag that Tenten had given to him for his sweet sixteen (whatever that was), and his feet was fastened with point-black boots. His long silky chocolate brown hair was tied into a low ponytail, except for the few shorter strands that lined his pale composed face with his gleaming polished hitae-ate over his bandaged forehead.

He was closely in mid of thinking about his new temporary Jounin team, since the three others in his old one were either getting married, running about like a mutt with his other mutt, or being a jackass who didn't show up for the final mission. And he's not even going to talk about the other teams he had had. Hopefully, just _hopefully_ his new one would be more…well…he hadn't read the contents of the folders yet…

Neji curiously flipped over the pages of the first folder, seeing that this teammate has a lot of experience with medical jutsus, training, and healing. Perfect chakra control, a very high IQ, superb Genjutsu skill, exceptional Taijutsu and Ninjutsu—he dilly-dallied around the papers, finding a picture of a young (quite attractive) woman with sparking doe green eyes and pink hair—

(_Deja-vu!_)

The moment he saw the rosy blush of such a coloring, he snapped his attention to the handicapped man sitting quietly and looking up at the numbers of floors they were going at. His surprising action got the man's green eyes to look back at him.

So much for being calm.

"Yes?" The man asked nicely, smiling lightly waiting for the younger man to speak. He was a little uncomfortable when that shinobi kept looking at him weirdly. Just then when the papers were slipping out the folders, he caught the picture of his daughter. He smiled weakly with a sort of sadness and regret in his eyes.

"Yeah, that's my daughter," he replied without Neji even asking, "Is she your new teammate?"

Neji bit back a sick choke, having no idea how someone like him could figure it out.

"Years of experience, young man, _years_…" the aged male grinned faintly. Neji nodded knowingly.

He checked the status of the young woman, seeing that her name was Haruno Sakura—hold up! Wasn't she the one who-who—dammit work brain _work!_

Oh right, _shit_…she was the one who dumped Uchiha's sorry ass…

"You should talk more often, young man," Haruno-san murmured, glancing at him with humorous eyes, "Or else someone might mistake you for a rock…" he chuckled. Neji frowned. He did not like jokes thrown at him, no matter if it's crude or a light one.

"Only when it's necessary, sir," he replied back, his lips thinned. Ding! The elevator doors slid open, Neji walked out first not even acknowledging that man's prescense. No one should piss off a Hyuuga.

But his strong clear voice broke through his brain, making him stop walking.

"Talking isn't just used for necessary times, young man," Haruno-san grinned, smoothing his hand over his duffel bag, "It's defined as an art, you can say…you can tell a lot about a person by the way they talk…or don't talk, I guess…" he laughed softly to himself. Neji gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"You're young enough, boy, I'm sure there are clubs are open for the nights such as this," Saburo looked up into the dark sky, filled with stars and a crescent moon, "The famous hip Baka-Haka is open, if you want to, my daughter is there. You can meet her since she is your new teammate—might as well get use to her prescense," the handicapped figure glanced at him for the last time that night, "I'll see you around, I suppose…"

He wheeled away back to his house, leaving Neji in thinking form.

_And who knew when someone was testing out the art of talking theory at the other side of town?_

"_So_ when can I come over tomorrow night…?" the young man smiled seductively, leaning against the bar counter and lightly caressed the brunette's wrist, feeling her pulse. Tenten chuckled, covering her grinning glossy lips with her slender hand.

"Just pick me at twenty hundred hours," she whispered, talking in military code.

The man nodded, not really understanding.

"Eight o'clock," Tenten murmured, hinting on the dumbfounded boy, "You know…? Subtract twelve from twenty hundred hours…?" She sighed when he still didn't get it. Of course, not a lot of normal people did.

Not a lot of idiots, that is…

"You know what? I'll see you around…" In thunder speed, she snatched the folded piece of paper written with her address and home number from the boy's pocket before he noticed. She gets very impatient waiting around for him to _get it_. "Bye!" The guy blinked confusingly, and watched her literally run away.

She had to wonder why she had to run out of there like the devil was at her heels. What was wrong with him? The man was gorgeous and tall, maybe around her age or older, a good dresser with good dark hair, dreamy eyes, charming smile, and a fine ass that won't quit!

Oh right, maybe it was the fact that that idiot is dumber than a doorknob, and that it took him about five very long minutes to count his change to leave the three-dollar tip for the bartender. Damn, she hated it when she loses yet another handsome guy for his little brain. Tenten cursed under her breath, lightly scratching a freckle on her forearm wondering if stupidity was an infectious disease.

_There has to be other guys!_

"Hey Tenten!" She twisted around, letting her long brown hair flying with her face hoping it would be a movie star or something extravagant like that. Her face faltered and she able to go all anime fall when it was only Rock Lee who touched her shoulder.

_Never mind_…

She smiled weakly when Lee handed her an olive martini (Even though she asked for an onion), and flashed a sparkly _ping_ of his impossibly white teeth, much to her dislike.

She placed her alcoholic drink on the tiled surface next to a batch of exotic bamboo, smiling to other passing men who cast her looks and grinned back. Too bad about five of them walked away when they spotted the Great Azure Beast of Konoha himself standing close to Tenten. She noticed this and freaked out, just like the time when one of her throwing kunais rusted at the tip (The good part where it goes through someone's internal organs!).

"Ek! Lee not too close!" Tenten pushed him on the shoulders hastily, making him fall on his bum with a cry causing people to look at them. Lee raised a thick black brow at her strange behavior.

"Eh?"

"Sorry…" Tenten murmured, frustratingly dusting off the front of his green shirt and off the shoulders. She gave him a glare that made him step back frightfully, hurriedly whispering, "You have got to stop standing like that!"

"What's wrong with the way I stand…?" Lee asked questionably.

"You're leaning onto me!"

"I'm leaning onto you…?" _He didn't really get it._

Tenten slapped her forehead with her hand, "You stand too close to me—it's giving everyone bad ideas!"

"Yeah because everyone judges the way we stand…" Lee rolled his round cartoon eyes, replying back. Tenten's stare tensed.

"Not funny!" she cried, wiping her sweating hands on her sexy turquoise dress and nervously running her hand over her brown hair, "It's because—" Tenten lowered her voice, "—I'm trying to hook up with guys, okay…?"

"But you're already hanging out with me!" Lee flashed a contagious grin and two thumbs up that made her sweat-drop.

"_Hooking up_ and _hanging out_ are two _different_ things…" she whispered, toughly emphasizing the italic words.

Lee laughed at her twitching eyebrow and flaring nostrils, definitely would have of made her look like a mouse if she would have had the twin buns. Tenten growled, snatching his sake out of his hand and drained it in one swift movement. Rock Lee looked worrying at her, "Maybe you should stop drinking so much…"

Seeing the concerned look in his buggy eyes made her face falter and nod, handing him back the small porcelain cup.

Even if you are worried about me, you still don't really _know_ me…

**To Be Continued**

_I'm a non-cannon, I like any pairing…well, I'm a little uncomfortable with incest, to be frank. But unfortunately I am now brain dead on the imagery of the pairings, main or temporary. It doesn't have to be with Sakura. Anyone can tell me what they want, anything, so I can get back to track. Thank you!_

_A good moment between Saburo-san and Neji and a funny one with Tenten and Lee! There's a continuing chapter after this, check it out!_


	7. Diamond Shoes: 8:41 pm

**Disclaimer:** Baby, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_AN_:** I do try my best to put comical funnies within a story I suppose it can help with the drama and romance going on. I'm sorry I haven't put enough Sakura loving (with any man) for the fans out there, but I'm working on it! I had not chosen yet for the pairing unfortunately. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! ENJOY THIS CHAPTER!

Diamond _Shoes_: 8:41 pm

"Hey Sakura?" the girl twisted her head to Tenten who was quite interested (and slightly drunk). "You never really told us why you and Sasuke broke up…what happened?" Lee looked a little curious too. Chouji and Kiba looked at the rosy-haired kunoichi.

Four mortified looks crossed through the shinobi's faces.

There was a deep silence. About half of the tablemates were either curious and the other half was just plain terrified.

Seconds ticked by, everyone waited for her answer…

Surprisingly to the second half, Sakura cracked a tired smirk. She didn't have the strength tonight to smile fully.

"We…just wanted different things…" she picked her words, signaling she didn't really want to talk about it.

_Of course, Sasuke wanted Ami…_

_She wanted strength…_

_So far they're different things, alright…_

The others who had no clue of what had taken place twenty four hours ago, and had nodded along like they _knew _her. She did not want pity. Sakura skipped the look Shino cast her behind his point black sunglasses. Inner Sakura scowled, snarling, "_Stop trying to hide it you wimp!_" She could have laughed with sarcasm, but she couldn't…

How can you laugh when you wanted to cry so badly?

And ironically, she didn't have the urge to cry…

"I-I think I'm g-going…" she swallowed her spit, "…to get a drink…" The pink-haired girl murmured in a desperate voice, only a few had noticed. Chouji sat quietly just snacking on his potato chips. Kiba snorted and got himself drunk again with the gawking of attractive women who passed by their table in sleazy skirts and revealing tops. Shikamaru scowled while Shino just stared ahead. Ino exchanged knowing glances with Hinata, wanting reassurance.

"Don't worry s-she can take care of h-herself…" Hinata whispered uneasily, as if trying to convince herself.

"_Hey? Where's Naruto?_" Lee asked curiously, tapping his chin.

**Intermission**

"Naruto…?"

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Maybe you should go to the _Baka-Haka_, I think Sakura said something about Ino and Shikamaru's party there—"

"I know, aren't you going?"

"No, no, Ino hates me…"

**Intermission**

Sakura slapped her money on the counter, "A tall scotch on the rocks with a twist," she asked with gritted teeth, squeezing out the dizzy look in her eyes, pulling on the collar of her coral jacket feeling the heat of everyone's warmth and euphoria of movements throughout the entire club. She would like take off her short trench coat, but what's underneath that Ino had picked out for her would only alert unwanted attention.

She watched from the side, with envy and sadness of men and women who were the same age as her dance with one and other, without the care of the world. They didn't even have to know. Their bodies twist interchangeably. _Breath-taking_. Each step they took was like a short colorful sweep of a paintbrush creating a masterpiece. _Beautiful._ The colors of their night clothes mixed and matched that of their partner's. The everlasting lights that shined around the room changed the hue of their hair and the color of their eyes as each at every beat of the enhancing music, exchanging such inquisitive sights. With every breath they took, their chests moved rhythmically and the glistening sweat poured off their exposed bodies. Their expressions were turned with signs of passion, intensity, and drama with their concentrated eyes and the clicks of their heels. _Stunning._

She wanted to be one of them…

To rid of her ugly sandals and to strap on a dazzling pair of diamond shoes, hit the floor, and to dance and dance the night through. _To forget, to forget…_

Sakura didn't notice where she had walked into and had knocked into a tall auburn woman, her elbow colliding against another body. She could have tripped if it weren't for a firm hold on her arm. The strong golden liquid spilled from the top, sticking her hands to the cold dewed glass. She looked up and saw only a pair of black frames of someone's sunglasses.

"Shino? Wh-What are you doing here?" she mumbled, noticing that the top of her rosy blush hair reached to the bottom of his nose.

Instead of his usual flak jacket that was too long and baggy for its own good, he wore a form-fitting long-sleeved black shirt with a crescent shaped collar that showed the long shape of his pale neck, leaving his unmoving thin mouth to be seen. His pale skin was unblemished making him look almost translucent. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead from his dark bushy brown hair.

It seems even Shino was too warm.

He took a long stare at her before he answered, "I was looking for you, Sakura-san. Your friends are getting worried."

"I was getting a drink, duh…" she rolled her eyes raising her scotch, very doubtful of Shino's high intelligence.

He stood still, still having a hold on her arm, "You took a long time looking at the dance floor."

Sakura sighed, "Aa, I know…I was admiring…_them_…"

"Then why aren't you with them?" The unreadable hidden stare asked her that.

"I don't know…not much of a dancer, I guess…?" she chuckled nervously, not really liking him this very moment.

"How do you know?" _That damn look again!_

"I don't like dancing very much…" That just made Inner Sakura grunted disbelievingly, '_I smell smoke. Seems like someone's pants are on FIRE!_'

"Why?"

Her emerald eyes became duller, "You know what happened…"

He took his time answering. "No…I don't…"

"You probably don't need to know…" she tried to smile, but she couldn't.

"Why?"

That irritating one-word question again! What is with this guy! Standing there in his almighty form staring with those pity eyes straight on her weak little puny one! Sakura's slender brow twitched, angrily growling, "Why are you asking me all these questions, Shino! Can't you—can't you just leave me alone!"

"No." An affirmative answer. Fits him.

She clenched her teeth in annoyance. "_Don't touch me!_" She shoved her arm from his hand. He let go unfazed. She glared at him with blazing emerald eyes, "Why do you care so much anyway! You barely even know me!"

"I have to get to know you soon…" Shino whispered softly.

"What are you talking about!" Sakura replied angrily.

"Sakura-san, I'm your new teammate."

(_The crowd goes wild!_)

"Y-You're my new t-teammate?" She choked down. Shino nodded.

Sakura split into a giant cheerful smile, coyly holding out her hand for a shake, "Wait Shino! I'm getting a new team?" Sakura cried, with her eyes all sparkly and childish. Her mentor did mention it to her two weeks ago.

"Yes."

"Who's in it? Besides you and I…" Her laugh carried a sort of chill down her own spine.

He took his time answering. "Our third teammate is a newly assigned Jounin named Danno Tobio, I suppose he was in our Academy class but he had graduated a year after us. And that's all I know." Sakura smiled, looking at her tall comrade. She sighed regrettably, a little shaky about it.

"Sorry I-I was just a little testy tonight…well, you know what happened…" she trailed on bleakly. Shino looked at her for a moment longer, and shook his head.

"No, I don't…" he said in a monotone, repeating his same answer from before.

She chuckled nervously, quickly taking a sip from her scotch, "_Never mind_…" Shino stared at her and nodded, turning on his heel to walk back to the table. Sakura just placed her scotch somewhere, forgetting about the bitter-sweet concoction and grabbed his shoulder. It was weird seeing his face without the half cut of his zippered jacket. His light look through his sunglasses was not easy to look up at, quite intimidating to be frank.

She needed this. She _needed_ to strap on a pair of diamond shoes, to feel the tough shiny jewel against her feet. To make herself feel beautiful. Not really having enough confidence to ask anyone, and hazy from the large qualities of sake in her body, Sakura smiled sadly, "_Would you like to go dancing?_"

"H-Hey _Naruto!_ Ya came at last!" Kiba barked, still in effect of his share of intoxicating sake.

His mutt eyes were squeamishly glazed and he had on a sloppy lopsided smile that looked like it was about to fall off his face. His shoulders were shrugging, moving his face up and down that his chin could have hit the table if it weren't for Shino's persistent tug on his arm.

"Hell yeah I did! I would never miss seeing you drunk!" the blonde cried eccentrically. He gave his irresistible grin to everyone, but only the people who had experienced what had happened last night understand and saw that his electric blue spheres skipped the eyes of Ino.

Ino narrowed her cobalt orbs at the future-Hokage with such loathing and anger. She stood three feet away from the table with her fiancé, taking a break from the dancing. Thoughts, murderous thoughts appeared in the back of her foul mouth mind, she tried to think of something else. But she couldn't. She tried. She really did dammit! But the hunger to hurt him was too great. _He knew…that idiot…that retard…and he did nothing about it…She _gripped her sake cup in her hand hard enough to break and let the sweet tranquilizing liquor pour on the tiled surface. Shikamaru frowned and scowled. She was still angry at the dobe.

"Stop it…" he whispered warningly, seeing that she wanted to punch Naruto again.

"Why should I?" Ino muttered snappishly, their voices drowned by the sounds of the loud music and the occupants three feet away who were all just chilling. She shot a look around the table, from Naruto to Sakura's empty seat and into Shika's eyes, again. "He knew all along—that bastard-I-I'll—"

Shikamaru grabbed her free hand in his own, rubbing her knuckles with love and care in his comforting eyes. It had melted the redness in Ino's mind, making her fall more in love with him. "Come on…" he urged, losing his scowl, "It's our _engagement_ party, he's our—_my_ friend—can we talk about it after?" After cooling off her stubborn mule side, she gave in and sighed.

Ino snickered, tracing sensuous circles on her boyfriend's thigh, "You know…with you drunk and shortly have been beaten up by a girl, you are a lot more _nonchalant_…" her voice savored the italic word. Shikamaru shrugged, pouring more sake into his cup to ease pain on the black-blue shiner around his eye.

"…Ino…Shikamaru…" the couple turned to Naruto who was grinning weakly, trying to avoid the wife-to-be's dangerous eyes, "C-Con-Congratulations on the engagement…" Ino had really regretted her thoughts, but she wasn't going to change her mind. She smiled in return, murmuring a _thank-you_. Shika just nodded in acknowledgement.

"Naruto-kun! You're here!"

Naruto planted a giant kiss on his girlfriend's lips when she got back from the ladies' room.

"N-Naruto-k-kun!" Hinata whispered stuttering, slightly embarrassed.

"WHAT A YOUTHFUL GESTURE OF A LOVE NARUTO-KUN!" Lee winked and stuck his thumb up. _People wanted to throw something at him._

"_Aw_…you two are so adorable…" Tenten giggled, smiling in their direction. Her eyes showed a tint of jealousy.

Ino leaned back against Shikamaru's shoulder and placed her mouth near his ear, "…_but not as hot as us_…" she smirked huskily watching her fiancé's bruised face turn deep red, and _not just from the sake, my friend_...

Hinata looked at Naruto with suspicious eyes when he took the liberty of pouring sake into a large white cup and drink it suddenly. Is he still uncomfortable about his actions? He did the thing right? Hinata pondered on it depressingly.

Naruto brought back down his cup and greeted everyone with large foxy grins filling the atmosphere with contagious happy moments. Naruto ran a hot tongue over his lips, pulling on the heiress's navy arm cuffs with a childish desperate stare.

"Isn't Neji-san supposed to be here by now?" Shika's best man Chouji asked, his voice was drowned out by the blasting music.

Neji made it to the front entrance of the stifling hot Dakuon Baka-Haka, walking with a large authority that the security guards soon let him in. It was a humongous one-story black-painted club with tiled rooftops and sealed windows. Paper lanterns and cultivated green bamboo grew outside giving a highly exclusive place (Which it was, apparently). With just his appearance the tough-looking gigantic built men quickly held the door for him, letting out the music that flowed out like the wind. Teenagers his age squealed begging to get in. Tons of people who were waiting for hours glared at him when he just entered without an ID or a sexy hundred dollar bill.

All because that bastard was a Hyuuga.

(_And inside shall we go!_)

The sweat fell from her body, dancing for about a dozen minutes sure can take a lot out of you. She twisted and turn, softly pushing her back against Shino's coaxing body. Her breath came out uneven and the joints in her body became jumpier and her heart went with every beat of the fast and loud music. The male singer, in a loose sky blue yukata with black and red makeup made into intricate artworks on his face, sang out the tunes of the fanatic melodies and the rocking rhythms of his electric guitars. Her feet rearrange themselves all over the dancing platform, her arms flailing with her extravagant pink hair flowing with her every movement.

The piano sang out. She slightly jumped to the music, her heels twisting with her hips lightly caressing that of Shino's. He was slightly clumsy with her unpredictable shakes. He was trying to keep up with her steps but sadly just created his own which mixed and matched that of her's like a checker board. Who could ever have known she was lying about being a great dancer?

"OH MY KAMI! IS THAT SAKURA AND SHINO DANCING!" Ino screamed, stabbing an accusing finger at the two very visible figures in the tight crowd. Sakura bowed down her head for a fraction of a second, seeing herself in the reflection cast off the metal squares that shined and sparkled with her black sandals. It felt like she had those jeweled shoes.

Shino could easily see her mouth softly moved to the lyrics, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

The singer blew out a giant kiss to the crowd, and did a few fancy moves on the stage exciting women everywhere.

But none could be as exciting as Sakura's.

Everyone soon recognized the pink-haired girl as Haruno Sakura as she tried to dance her heart out. Even Shino had stopped dancing so intensely. _To forget…to forget…_Inner Sakura sang out.

No one really knew that underneath her coral trench coat held a fiery woman who tired to rid of her feelings and bad thoughts, twisting like a ballerina in those heels. She didn't want to talk into her pillow anymore. It was time to wake up. Her body was glistening with sweat of this training. She would put all her mind, soul, and heart into this. This was passion.

Naruto closed his eyes with such guilt. Hinata bit her lip, trying to look away but _could not..._

Give me strength…

If she could dance out her heart, she could give up on the past. She can try. She can do it. She can make it.

Her turn came too fast.

She stepped at the wrong time, tripping.

She didn't make it.

_Come on baby. _

Lights came down, Sakura stood alone next to a calm Shino who stood still and caught her exhausted body into his arms. Through her half-lidded eyes she could see that her friends came running after her when she fell like that. Ino was panting, her long blond mane whipping behind her with glimmers of tears.

Rock Lee ran towards her side, couldn't believe his precious person was unsafe and hurt because he wasn't there…

Hinata's silver-white eyes were panicked and widened. Naruto's blue spheres were darting to places with dread as he came in an inhuman speed towards her.

Shino's sunglasses were so mysterious…so questionable…so _black_…

"I couldn't do it…I couldn't _forget_…" Sakura whispered audibly to him. She did not cry.

She didn't make it…she cursed herself before she collapsed unconscious…

_Let's go... crazy…_

Hyuuga Neji looked at the guards, seeing that he couldn't get in. He didn't try, so he just ignored that crippled man's words and walked away. What did it matter? He had his whole life to stay young.

It was just one night after all.

What did it matter…?

**To Be Continued**

_THANK YOU FOR THE 80 HIT!_

_Thank you to those who told me about lyric banishment rule, luckily i saw Dragon Man 180's review so I can change the things inside. _

_Danno Tobiois _not_ an OC, I didn't know his last name so I made it up but he was shown in both the manga and anime. Once I introduce him, everyone would be in for a shocker. _

To **inFiNite-LoNer1**- Keh, dude, you don't have to read it. If you don't like the plot, then just keep to yourself.


	8. Guilt: Time Stop

**Disclaimer:** Dumpling, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_AN_:** I'm on an update roll! I had to write this chapter down quickly! It's too intoxicating! YOSH! Enjoy!

_Guilt_: Time Stop

When Sakura had fainted, it was all she could do to restrain the dobe.

"NARUTO!" Ino screamed, having a firm grip on the other blonde's collar. She pulled him roughly and forcefully pushed him down to one of the narrow hallways in the _Baka-Haka_ club which led to several restrooms. Shikamaru saw it and didn't look back, when he followed the others out of the crowded bar with an unconscious body in Shino's arms. The annoying brat kept moving and squirming, crying out multiple curses and swear words. She immediately grabbed hold of his hands and twisting it, shoving him against the phone booth next to the men's lavatories. The stench of urine and stink scented their noses, but the troublesome woman could care less.

"What the hell is your problem! Sakura needs help! LET ME GO!" Naruto exclaimed, trying to get away. He broke free because of the extra strength and stamina he possessed that she didn't, running quickly to his Sakura-chan's aid.

Ino quickly slipped her hand into her jacket pocket, pulling out a scroll and did some hand signs.

"**Fabricated Ribbon no Jutsu!**"

Her hands pumped violet-white chakra into the scroll seal, unrolling the parchment paper which turned into a very long thin rope of shiny white silk. Ino sent the ribbon straight at Naruto's body like an attacking serpent, wrapping him sharply that he trampled forward and fell face-first. The fox demon was aching from the tight bound around his body, his hands were unable to touch each other when they lay stuck at his sides. He didn't have enough time to perform Kage-Bunshin or Kawarimi no Jutsu to get out of this mess.

Of course, Ino's a kick-ass.

She pulled with her adrenaline-made strength and the silvery ribbon ricocheted off the linoleum floor, carrying the struggling Naruto to her feet. She dug her heel on one of his shoulder blades, making him stay.

"_Bitch_," Naruto spat out like venom.

Ino was unfazed. She was always a bitch.

Instead she held an even firmer grip on the ribbon, tightening the body on the ground.

Naruto grunted in the increased pain, feeling like he was in a straitjacket. He must have looked like a mummy.

"Okay, Naruto—_stop squirming you coward!_" she scowled, throwing back her bleach blond ponytail, "Shut up with the insults, it's not working and it's never going to work! It's getting _so_ annoying!"

"Then LET ME GO!" Naruto shouted.

"No," Ino whispered angrily.

"WHY THE HELL NOT!"

"Because you stupid retard! You have GOT TO TELL HER!" Ino screamed, her heel digging further into his back. Naruto yelped.

"Tell w-what…?" he groaned in solitude.

"Don't make me hurt you!" Ino shrieked like a Siren, both alluring and devious, "Tell Sakura the _truth!_ Tell her what you have done! She needs to know! She still does not have a clue! Sakura-chan should at least know who sent her those pictures! Because of your goddamn silence you worsen the problem between her and that backstabber! Now go and tell you dobe! "

Naruto froze, warped into another time zone where melted clocks with lopsidedly arrow hands hang on several old limbs of barren trees and the eerie air was heavy and white. Voices dashed into his head, exuviating within the pores of hair, sending down like chakra into his brain criss-crossing into his mind, and grabbing stern hold on his conscience.

**Making him remember those words. **

"Naruto? Hello, wake up! Earth to Naruto!" A wave of a hand woke him up out of this trance. Sakura's emerald eyes looked into his bright blue spheres with concern.

_She doesn't know._

He dart eyes away from her.

_Maybe…she doesn't need to…_

**To Be Continued**

_Fabricated Ribbon no Jutsu_ – Ino's jutsu/Yamanaka technique. I thought it would be cool, since I always wondered about the purpose of the red ribbon she gave to Sakura when they were young. _Maybe_, I had thought, _it would a lot of fun to make it into a technique._


	9. Alarm Clock: 5:07 am

**Disclaimer:** Baby, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_AN_:** (Sweat-drop) If I didn't know any better, I'd say that some of you want me to write Neji and Tenten _exclusively_ instead of Sakura and everybody else…anyway, I'm still stuck on the whole pairing pick thing. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and helped me along with the pairing choosing. Although I'm also thinking how cool a few of you are for leaving the choice up to me.

Enjoy this update! _Feed the Author!_ Please review!

_Alarm_ Clock: 5:07 am

Naruto woke up a start, grasping the front of his sleeping shirt. He breathed stiffly and had almost snorted his nose which was aching from enrolling all that inhaling and exhaling. He frustratingly snatched his puppy-faced sleeping cap and ruffled up his sunshine yellow locks with his riveting fingers.

He had the most unusual dream last night. Nothing about him eating ramen, Hinata, him being Hokage, ramen tap-dancing, cute Hinata-chan, his face on the Hokage Monument, miso ramen wrestling pork ramen, cute Hinata-chan in a sexy sequin dress, him wearing the Hokage hat, or even him eating a second helping of ramen. Very weird dream.

He swore he remembered only a sliver of it. He closed his electric blue eyes, trying to pick up the pieces in his memory bank.

Something was smiling. Something was laughing. Something with warm brown eyes and cropped dark hair—

_Bring! Bring! _

"_Kuso…_" he muttered angrily, almost smashing the alarm clock on his nightstand.

_Bring! Bring!_

He threw the clock away from his sight. The contraption took the hit on the hard floor. The force had cracked through the metal and plastic cover, splitting in half that the glass had smashed with the black arrow hands rolling around like crazy. Before Naruto could take a breather—

_Bring! Bring!_

If the entire square block could him scream from his small apartment, they could.

"GOD DAMMIT! SHUT UP YOU STUPID NOISY DAMN CLOCK OF FIERY HELL!"

_Bring! Bring!_

**Intermission**

Ino looked up from her toast. "Hey Hinata? Did you hear something?"

**Intermission**

_Bring! Bring!_

"ARGH!" She launched herself out the mattress, with sore muscles on her shoulders, chest, and a folded streak of pain sharpened around her middle abdomen, waking the drunken lassie at this miserable hour. Blindly, her fingers numbly surfaced around her nightstand and pushed the off button on her pink alarm clock. When the blankets and sheets fell from her upper abdomen, she felt a rush of cool air surfaced on her bare arms. She peeked out of one eye seeing that she was clad in a lime green camisole and purple pajama bottoms. Sakura panicked.

_Who the hell dressed her last night?_

Before the question could be answered by her counterpart, flashes of last night embarrassed and shamed her to no end. First, waking up with a broken heart (Damn you Sasuke), meeting with her parents for lunch (a tragedy), stuffing herself with sandwiches (she couldn't have been that hungry!), punching Shikamaru in the eye (that was fun), congratulating the lucky couple at the Baka-Haka (she was happy for them), listening and _agreeing_ with Kiba (that doesn't often happen), getting herself drunk (never happens), dancing with Shino (Whoa!), and collapsing unconscious and waking up having no idea who the hell dressed her! (God dammit)

The pink-haired kunoichi rose from the blankets, the sheets slipping off her body and her long tresses of pastel pink fell around her pale sweaty face. Sakura shook her head fiercely to shake off the dullness in her tired emerald eyes.

_Five more minutes_…

She shook herself out of this reverie, it was too naïve of her. This kind of thought remembered her of the early mornings when she was eleven or twelve (she didn't remember) that she had to go to the Academy—Sakura laughed bitterly, also remembering of the depressing mornings when her mother who would always had on a tight smile on her sallow face when she brushed her short hair aside, feeling bald spots and shorter strands that the other girls had snipped off…

Sakura had eaten faster than usual, having a larger appetite that consisted of two bagels with a giant slop of cream cheese, three waffles and pancakes smothered in syrup, and scrabble eggs with bacon bits and chives. Ino and Hinata were hushed and didn't say much, just watching her run around. She raced around her apartment, stumbling on her nimble feet trying to change into her training clothes. She had accidentally wore her short black skirt backwards with the maroon belt straps buckled lopsidedly, her dark green shorts she desperately searched for were in the laundry, her burgundy red shirt with the Haruno white symbols was wrinkled and she tried with all her might to tuck it in properly, and she had worn her teal sandals with left shoe on right foot, cursing under her breath as she zipped up her green Jounin vest.

The long blush hair was tied into a tight ponytail starting at her neckline. Sakura was fixing up her herself with her shuriken holster until she looked at her dresser top with a neatly folded green hitae-ate. The metal was gleaming in the dawning sunlight that gleamed through the blinded windows, the shiny Konoha symbol sparkled. She picked it up timidly, forgetting she had ever worn this.

She tried to tie the forehead protector around her hair behind her shorter pink bangs. Sakura bit her lip tying the hitae-ate sloppily with the plate falling to one side. She never had had trouble with this. The knot was too loose and the metal plate fell on the wooden floor with a thud.

Sakura stared at the floor with narrowed eyes.

_What is she doing…?_

Inner Sakura rolled her dilated empty eyes with a scoff, watching her outer part picking up the forehead protector like a glass antique. Sakura glared ahead into the six feet tall oval mirror with impatience, deciding to tie the damn thing over her giant forehead. Looking into her reflection almost made her take a step back when looking at herself was like looking at another person. _Can't possibly be her_…doesn't matter if this other girl had glossy pink hair and doe green eyes, or the fact she was as tall as her, with same complexion, or that her skin had always had this unique light rosy hue like pink pearls.

But the way her eyes looked into the mirror, the way her shoulders were pulled and the way she held herself up. The way she was standing in the twin matching clothes she had worn since last year, the way her hair was falling over the gleaming metal plate had hid the dreaded forehead, and it had also straightened out her slender eyebrows and had made her eyelashes longer which fanned around her emerald eyes narrower and analytical like that of her father's and making her cheekbones higher and pallid like her mother's.

…_Haruno Junko_…_Haruno Saburo_…_the Haruno-sans_…

Why didn't her mother understand?

Why didn't her father say anything?

Why didn't they just consol her with parental affections and love for their only child…_like every other parent…_?

And instead her mother threw a revolted and irritated look at her way, yelling at her like she putting in orders for her customers in the busy restaurant. And her father…_did nothing_ about it and seemed to be in his own little world, dreaming of walking legs and fighting at the sides with young shinobis who look up to him with knowing respects.

It had always been this way twelve years ago, ever since Saburo had lost the use of his strong young legs in a mission and had to reside in a wheelchair doing tremendously boring paperwork in the Tower, watching younger men walk by his way, passing in the halls without a single look on the old retired shinobi. He had missed the respects and pride he held himself with, remembering the old times and sometimes even locking himself in the bedroom until he needed the bathroom or went down the built ramp for meals.

Her mother working as the primary provider, had continuously taken more hours than her usual working time to get more pay and the smells she would always bring into the house reminded everyone of the steamy hot kitchens and prepared dishes she carried around to people's table. Up until she was sixteen, Sakura was the sole housekeeper cleaning up the place and putting some of her savings into her parent's banks when her father was brooding about his _oh so_ great past or when her mother was suffering from the pressure of gossips flying about in her way.

Sakura left the apartment without a goodbye to her two best friends who looked at her with remorse.

She looked the clock hanging in the kitchen before she left the door.

_Dammit!_ She's late!

_Bring! Bring!_

**Intermission**

"Naruto…?" Kakashi asked, walking around his subordinate's block. Uzumaki Naruto fidget, his body was cold and shivering from the cool late morning.

"_H-Hey K-Ka-ka-s-shi!_" He stuttered, "W-Wha-What's u-up-p!" Kakashi grinned behind his mask.

Anyone could have sworn the demon vessel was growing goosebumps on top of his goosebumps. He was shaking nervously, putting up a clumsy grin and a wave of his free hand. He shoved his other hand deep into his back. Naruto cringed unpleasantly when a devastating crinkle of paper was heard.

"_N-Nice-d-day h-huh!_" Naruto laughed a little too loudly, picking up the trash can lid behind him.

The older man cocked his head to the side, wanting to know what's wrong. In the blonde's hand was a crumpled brown paper bag that was bound tight and sloppily with an overuse of scotch tape. Even a sticky pinkish white substance folded in between the wrinkled opening struck the one-eyed shinobi to be cherry bubblegum and school glue…

Kakashi sweat-dropped, his visible eye blinked a couple of times before he replied again, "What's in the bag, Naruto?"

"_N-No-t-thING!_" Naruto squeaked, immediately stuffed the bag into the trash can and slamming the lid down.

The teenager was always a terrible liar.

"Right, anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to have ramen with me and Sak—"

He was interrupted by a loud 'YOSH!' and a dash of smoke, with the orange and yellow wonder running back into his apartment, a shuffle of clothes was changed and in a split second later, the top shutters opened abruptly, the eighteen year old boy jumped right out of the window with a excited hyperactive cry and landed hastily in front of his teacher huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf, hobbling on one foot slipping one sandal over his foot.

Naruto grinned foxily, "Hopefully you're paying right?"

Kakashi sighed.

_Bring! Bring!_

**Intermission**

He was awake an hour. With several bites of buttered toast and dressed into black robes, Hyuuga Neji had been training nonstop just pounding down on a heavy punching bag in the forest outside the Hyuuga Estate. He practiced several Hakkes and administered random flying shuriken and kunais on himself, and activating Jakkuns to avoid them totally. Neji wiped his face with a small towel hanging on a tree branch that was strapped with a straw bound dummy with several drawn target circles where he could perfect his hand flicks of his jutsus and Gentle Fist movements.

He usually would train with Tenten or Rock Lee, his uncle, even Gai-sensei would teach him _youthful_ techniques, but he preferred to be alone at the moments before dawn.

Neji had on his Byakugan, as he watched his unique bluish-white chakra flowed through his veins and pumped into the openings of chakra points which were released into short bursts. Since he had trained for so long, his white veined eyes could see further into his body than anyone could have thought.

He grunted, letting the first set of sweat seeped through his pale skin.

He tried to control his chakra properly again, looking at the set of instructions on a unrolled scroll. He never seemed to get it right on the first try. He didn't have perfect chakra control as he had desired.

He deactivated his Byakugan at last when he had only little improvement for that hour. Neji never liked days like this.

Failures were what he hated most of all things, on the exception of the Caged Bird seal on his forehead.

Days like today, Neji absentmindedly rubbed the bandaged forehead with his fingers with a small frown on his composed face. He had always hated the green seal, hated that he was forever feeling this conscious pain that was cast over him ever since he was four. This numbing ongoing sick pain in his mind that made his fluttering wings rapidly beat against the iron bars of this ornamental cage—

"I heard she's in your team."

Neji snapped his silver-gray eyes to the person standing three yards away from him. The dark tall figure was shaded by the thick branches and green leaves that were hanging to brown and yellow, with autumn nearing. His voice was deep and straightforward. Tall and composed like the Branch Member himself. He scoffed, instantly extinguishing the thought away.

No where in Hell would a proud Hyuuga would ever compare himself to such a shinobi.

A _bastard_, that is…

"Can I help you?" He asked coldly, not really meaning what he had said.

The dark figure was unfazed, instead pushing more of his buttons, "_Sakura_…she's in your new team, isn't she…?"

"Something like that, I suppose…" Neji rolled his white eyes, scowling.

He didn't have time for this unwelcome guest.

"Take…care of her…" Neji could have fallen over if he had been standing, "…for _me_…"

"_Pardon?_" the Byakugan user snapped irritated.

"Just…keep her out of trouble…I don't…want her hurt…"

"_Keh, ask the dobe to take care of her!_" Neji folded his arms together, glaring deeply into the other's eyes.

Silence overtook them, the white-eyed man could sense strong nervous vibes increasing from the other man.

Neji cocked a eyebrow.

"…he won't be able to…" the figure spoke with a hint of sadness in his voice, "…I need to prove myself…I can't…come back to her…with…out proving I'm capable…of…of …" He didn't seem to want to continue. The figure's head moved to the side, the glint of his eyes moved to the side of the lids. His arms were shaking, his shoulders slouching.

"I'm…going to be…gone for…a certain amount…of months…" the man spoke quietly, "…I want her…to wait…for me…"

"Please…" the man's form was strangling like he was carrying the weight of the world on his back, "…take care of her…for me…when I get…back…please…_promise me_…that…"

Never had Neji become so astounded, so surprised. Even more when the news of his father's death, when Naruto had beaten him, the sharp penetrating pain of a thousand fires had went through his shoulder, more so than anything in the world could be more intensifying and traumatizing as this spectacle that this dark figure had put on for the one-man audience. He felt like the luckiest man to have ever experience this, of course in the world of sarcasm, _yes_…

Having no idea how he could have said what he had said, and only regretting to not have swallow both those two dreaded words.

**I promise. **

_Bring! Bring!_

**To Be Continued**

_Update! Woo! This idea for the chapter came to my head, it was kind of interesting to put the annoying sounds of an alarm clock in! It's supposed to wake people up from their deep reading. Hopefully everyone liked it!_


	10. Open Opinions: 7:36 am

**Disclaimer:** Baby, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_AN_:** Thank you for reviewing! _Yikes_, I got my school scores back and it doesn't look so well, so I have to cut off the frequent updates in _half_ on any of my stories, sadly, to do all my homework and rise up my grades. So I would only be able to write every two weeks or more. Enjoy this chapter for now!

_Open _Opinions: 7:36 am

"Oi Sakura, I heard you've been assigned your first Jounin team. Congratulations," Kakashi grinned from behind his mask, closing his visible eye into his unique content smile. His old student grinned ear to ear, smiling bashfully and quite smitten with herself. Sakura brushed a small strand of her glossy hair away from her flushing face, twining it behind the teal cloth of her shiny metal hitae-ate. The two Jounin comrades walked side by side on the streets after a nice lunch at Ichiraku Ramen Shop in Kakashi's treat (a first), and Naruto had ran off Heaven knows where leaving student and teacher to converse. The day was still early so the streets were almost empty.

"Y-Yeah, I guess," Sakura murmured, smiling modestly.

"Who's in your team?" the Copy Ninja asked thoughtfully.

"Uh—Aburame Shino and my old classmate Danno Tobio—"

The silver-haired man cocked a slender brow at the unfamiliar name, "Who's that?"

"Who knows? I don't think I ever talked to him, besides it's been a long time since the Academy…" Sakura chuckled softly to herself.

Kakashi seemed to have dismissed her words, "Hm, who's your captain?"

"Actually, I have no idea. Shino only told me about this yesterday night—"

"Oh right, how was the engagement party?" Kakashi brought up, interrupting the young woman's sentence, "I didn't get to give my congrats to the couple, unfortunately…" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Well, you _were_ invited but you didn't show up…"

The older shinobi flipped out his orange Icha Icha book fetish, his eye on the pages, "Hm, I didn't think Ino would enjoy my prescense."

The pink-haired woman scoffed, glaring at the Jiraiya wonder book, "Only because she dislikes your choice in literature!"

"Really? That's it?" Kakashi grinned, flipping a page of that mystery context, "I thought she might have hated me for something more—"

"Like what!" Sakura blurted out, giggling, "I mean _come on!_" she playfully punched his unmoving arm quite hard, "You're _the_ Hatake Kakashi!"

The man rubbed his arm unconsciously, staring at the young woman, "Right, first establishing my full name _then_ hitting me, your point Sakura?"

"YOU'RE HATAKE KAKASHI!" Sakura shouted initiatively, laughing like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Famous throughout the entire Fire Countries! Strong! Brave! _Heartthrob!_" She waved her arms in the air like she was advertising Kakashi, who stood around dumbfounded, "HATAKE KAKASHI! MAN OF STEEL!" she flexed her arms into anime-style muscles, making off on her special hand gestures and widely arranged feet, "The _suave_ and the _cool_ Konoha's Copy Ninja with the tendency to be late for _every_ training, with his _irritating_ whimsically-askew forehead protector, and constantly wearing that _annoying_ mask over his damn face!" Sakura poke him on his clothed cheek, smirking, "_Who wouldn't like you!_"

"Ino," Kakashi said affirmatively, turning back to his book.

"She does not hate you!" Sakura scowled defensively.

It took a long moment for her companion to reply back, he glanced at her at his left, "It makes me wonder. All the things you just said, is that why you like me?" That question had startled Sakura, causing her to trip in her green strapped sandals. Her face turned instantly pale and she began to laugh nervously, Sakura tried to swallow back her words before any uncomfortable ideas get into anyone's heads. But her efforts were proved worthless in front of her calm composed teacher.

"W-Well there is so m-much to you!" Sakura smiled her best, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly, "It's not how famous you are that counts to _me_," she glazed lightly at him with a appreciative gaze, "…you're…just…so…_cool_…"

"Hm, **cool**," Kakashi said the word himself, trying it out for size, "Fits, I suppose." Sakura grinned childishly.

But her grin was easily diminished.

"I know about you and Sasuke…" he whispered nonchalantly, a hint of deep sadness dwelled in his one eye.

Sakura sighed, agitatedly, "_Who doesn't_…?" she whispered tersely.

"But I don't know _all_ the details…" Kakashi murmured. He quietly darted his eye side to side before he pulled his old student into a secluded alley where no one would disturb them. Hidden behind a lamppost and mailbox, covered by a fallen red banner of a closed vegetable market, he leaned against the brick wall detailed in colorful graffiti and chalk tally marks that children had done before he started to talk.

"Sakura…listen to what I have to say, do as I say not as I do, understand?" he murmured, moving his eye for anyway flailing passersby before he continued. Sakura shrugged impatiently, shirting weight from one foot to another.

"You know you should have picked a better—_more_ private place than the _streets_," Sakura muttered angrily, folding her arms together with annoyance, "I don't need the Five Countries to hear more about my personal life…"

"I know you're hurting," he said calmly, placing his gloved hand on her shoulder that had her want to shove off the friendly gesture, "But stop beating yourself over it…"

"I can't heal that fast, sensei…" Sakura scowled, furrowing her brows and turning her body fully in his direction with fiery emerald eyes, "…despite my skills. Our break up was supposed to be personal and kept to the two of us. But what Sasuke had done to me is none of your concern!"

Kakashi sighed, she still didn't know about Naruto. "That's not what I'm saying—"

"Why do you care so much for me all of a sudden—for this-this p-pitiful reason! Hell, I can date other guys and fall in l-lo—" She was having a hard time saying that forbidden L word. Sakura threw up her hands in frustration, glaring at him intensely, "I'll find other men! Even if it takes me more than lifetime!"

"I know, but—"

"I can find other better men! Good-great—_wonderful_ men who are willing to be with _me!_" Sakura was almost on the verge of breaking down, but she gritted down her teeth, "I can do it! It's just that you and everyone else never gave me any credit!"

"Sakura—"

"Is that why you're making a big deal about this! You _like_ me or something!"

The last question had snapped her out this devastating trance, crashing down reality on her head like a cannonball. Kakashi was far more surprised at this abruptness and was quite bewildered at this question. Dammit, she did not want him to contemplate on something false. Hell! He was her teacher and she had showed him disrespect! _Disgraceful!_ Sakura bit her lip and looked at him with an apologetic stare, "I'm sorry," she whispered mournfully.

Kakashi shook his head, "You know what? I came here trying to be a friend and a comforting shoulder, Sakura—"

"Kakashi-sensei, come on—"

He ignored her extended attempts in apology, "It is such sweet sorrow that you still don't seem to able look underneath the underneath of my words…I came here to comfort you and talk to you about it, because you are my student and you, Haruno Sakura, are like a daughter I'll never have…"

"Kakashi—"

"I wanted you to be happy, to be content with whomever you want," Kakashi walked away with his back to her, "I was able to tell you that I'll be gone for a while, maybe a few months I'm not sure…I would be leaving at this same hour, I thought you wanted a last word with me…that's why I invited you and Naruto for ramen…that's why I needed to talk to you, but it seems…you can handle it your own…Sakura, just be careful out there…"

"Kakashi-sensei—"

"I'll see you around, Sakura…"

"Kakashi—"

"I'll be back."

"Kakashi—"

"All I ever wanted for you was to be happy…"

"Kakashi—"

"Don't boast of yourself when it's not needed…"

"Kaka—"

"I'll write back…"

"Ka—"

"Goodbye, Sakura…"

"K—"

"Just be happy, Sakura..."

"Kakashi-sensei--"

And he disappeared.

**To Be Continued**

_You'll meet her team next chapter, I'll assure you. And Danno Tobio is not an OC. _


	11. Jinx Shinobi: 8:12 am

**Disclaimer:** Honey, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_AN_:** Okay, I finished my homework (phew!) let me write down this chapter for you all.

I give all my love to the reviewers and readers, thank you for the encouragement!

Jinx _Shinobi_: 8:12 am

Two dark figures stood at foot of the East Gate, each with little belongings in their knapsacks filled with that of precious memories their past had provided for them in this homely village. The younger stiff man looked passively at his old mentor, who just arrived with grief in his eye. He shook his head disbelievingly, feeling his long raven bangs brush lightly against his closed eyes.

"What did _she_ say?"

"Not much, I didn't say much either."

"…I still can't believe you're coming with me…"

"Well, I still can't believe I agreed to…" a mysterious hidden smile was seen in the soft light that cascaded through the thick leafy branches of the shadowing tree groves.

"Why? You have everything here…" the first speaker muttered, "…_she_ still wants her old teacher around…"

"I know," a click of his tongue was heard, his eye crinkled slightly, "…but _you_ still want me around too…"

"I prefer to be alone when I'm traveling," he whispered, blinking his eyes of tiredness. He watched the other man turn on his heel and walk further away from the Hidden Leaf.

The older shinobi smirked and opened up his orange book, taking out his book marker, "The feeling is mutual."

"And…" the mentor cocked his head towards his pupil, with a crinkled eye grin.

"…I like being alone with someone else, too."

Sasuke nodded, and walked at Kakashi's right, "I feel the same way."

In a blink of an eye, they were gone.

Don't worry.

_They'll be back. _

**Intermission**

Sakura slumped in the plastic stool with an exasperated groan, already feeling the sore muscles in her body.

For a full thirty minutes after Kakashi had left, she had broke down in her state and curled up into a frightened shaking ball at the corner of the dingy alley, ignoring the stares that everyone who passed by had given to her. She didn't care about the pity or disgust in their eyes, or the biting words they spoke to one and other. She didn't care what would spread to her mother or be spread straight to her friends.

Sakura slapped her money on the counter, ignoring the grieving glance the Ichiraku shopkeeper gave her.

She just didn't care anymore at that moment.

She didn't even care that her clothes were shabby from the dust and grim, that the back of her Jounin vest was smeared from the chalk drawings from that alley. She slump her shoulders, heaving deep breaths and tightened the hold of her fist. The pain of her nails against her palm had increased enough to draw blood.

Every day of her unfulfilled life, she had been worried over silly things such as pecks of dirt on her clean sandals or the annoying tangles in her glossy pink hair. Bad luck or fool's fortune had been pouring over her, but she looked at the most meager things like who likes who or what would happen to that girl of that boy or if Sasuke-kun would like me in this dress or that. She never really gave enough thought of what really would be happening after all those damn things had passed by.

The smell of cooking ramen raved her senses.

_Would be she waiting for more? _

Would she be waiting for meaningless empty things to happen?

And never knowing what _really_ could happen?

If she were to pick one emotion to have forever, what would it be? Happiness? Joy? Love?

Sakura scoffed, tossing back her long rosy pink hair. The young waitress Ayame smiled politely at her and placed a pair of wooden chopsticks and a bowl of pork ramen in front of her. The young woman whispered a soft thank you.

Happiness is empty without sadness. Joy is nothing without sorrow. Love is…

Love…

Is…

Fucking…

She snapped her chopsticks apart and washed the splinters off with the fierce rubbing of her clapped hands.

Love is _so_ fucking beautiful.

Sakura wanted to weep just thinking of that kind of beautiful bliss she felt for Sasuke, for Kakashi, for Naruto, for Ino and Hinata, for her mentor Tsunade, for her parents, for her family, for her friends, for the village, for her strength, for her skills, for all the men she had kissed and hugged after every night she came back from her dates, for all her dreams, for all the blushing moments, for all the good and bad moments, for all the things she loved and didn't love, for those who didn't know her, for the successful missions, for every children, for every woman, for every man, for all her patients she healed, for every death and birth, for every life given and taken, for every gift she received, for the love she had, for the wisdom she gained, for the advice she given, for the smiles she earned, for every stroke of her hair, for every blink of her eye, for every beat of her heart, for all the blood running in her body, for all her worth she possessed…

_Because she loved being in love. _

She stuffed the soggy noodles into her mouth, tasting the sweet and sour taste on her dry tongue.

And just throwing away the first man she had ever truly loved with all her being and soul, she felt so exposed and naked in front of everyone's eyes. When Sakura first woke up with a broken heart, she felt like a child who knew of nothing until she had laid eyes on Sasuke-kun. What could happen to her? Could she really be able to fall in love again?

With another man? Impossible…

She sighed, Sasuke meant _everything_ to her. Every breath he took, she loved him. Every time he looked at her with his bottomless eyes, she melted. Every time he spoke her name, she felt happy. Whenever he was sad, she was sad. Whenever he smirked or chuckled deep in his chest, she smiled her biggest and she laughed like none other.

She wiped the droplets from her mouth with a napkin, and slowly finished up her ramen.

_And she threw it away. _

With so many thoughts in her mind, she was very unaware of a brunette standing across the busy street.

Tenten carefully fixed her makeup, looking intently at the small rectangular mirror of her cosmetic compact from her green velvet purse. She cursed when she put too much blush on, of course, she had never put on makeup. Tenten accidentally landed one foot on the ground at the wrong moment when she got off her seat on the fence. She never wore heels that high.

She quickly straightened out her freshly ironed pleated skirt and blouse.

She never wore skirts either. That short, anyway.

The brunette carefully clipped small black pins to hold up her twin hair buns, looking as cute as she had always had. Tenten smiled a practiced sexy smile, ready as ever to flirt with young men in the markets. Failing just last night was not part of plan to hook up with a guy, no, no, failure is her enemy.

And it has a habit of taunting her every night.

She walked carefully (beware of six-inched heels) through the street, passing by Ichiraku Ramen to a variety shop which gave off a thick smell of cheap plastic and fake leather. She leaned her head down to look at the inexpensive prices of miniature paper dolls and colorful clothed flowers. Tenten winced at the awful stench the toys gave off, moving her narrowed brown eyes to a plastic plaything mirror on her left, hanging with a bunch of battery-activated lanterns and wind-up spinning tops. With a careful eye, and tons of experience from weaponry throwing, she had targeted her victim.

A giddy toothy smile spread across her tan face. Just her luck!

A tall dark handsome man walked out of a small coffee shop, clad in a long vest and his hair tied into a short ponytail, he was reading a book and sipping his coffee. He took a seat on one of those patio tables. He appeared to be intelligent and _single_, she noted, and was sitting alone!

In a table with another empty seat!

Wee! She almost ran over there, not even caring who she had shoved aside!

Or who had run into her—

"TENTEN-SAN! GOOD TO SEE YOU ON THIS LOVELY MORNING!"

"AHHHHH!" she screamed, falling on her behind.

She could have bet a zillion dollars that her hair pins had popped out, letting go strands of her twin buns to create a disastrous chaos, and her clothes were dirtied and wrinkled instantly when she scrambled to get up and fold down her itty bitty witty skirt. She shut her eyes tightly and prayed it would not be who she thinks it is! _Not him…not him…anyone but him…_

"TENTEN-SAN! IT'S ME ROCK LEE!"

Fuck.

"Lee, hey…" Tenten blocked out his spandex-clad image, turned her head to his far side to see if that cute guy was still there.

_He was_, she was relieved, _and still alone_. Good.

Tenten patted a hand on his shoulder with a frightening smile twitching on her mouth, "Lee, I'm kind of busy, can we talk later?"

_Please. _

Lee looked at her with curious bug eyes, scratching his bowl-cut, "What's wrong? You seem unlike yourself today!"

Tenten bit her lip, knowing she wasn't get out of this one. She glanced. Good, he's still there.

"Lee, _I really need to go_," she growled out, her smile was becoming scarier by every millisecond she standing there with her teammate. The Azure Beast blinked and turned his head which blocked out her sight of Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome.

"Lee!" she squealed, forcing his head back into place and shoved her way through.

But her Hooking Up Plan was squashed when Lee held on to her arm with a worried look on his cartoon face.

"Tenten! You look really pale!" He pulled her away from Hot Guy at 9 o'clock, "You need to go to the doctor's! You must have ate something bad!"

"LEE!" She yelped, frightened and wretched her arm out of his grasp, "I'M FINE!"

"No you're not! Look at you! You're getting pinker by the second!"

"LET GO! I'M FINE DAMMIT!"

"But Tenten-san! You're sick!"

"I'M NOT SICK! I'M FINE! NOW LET GO LEE!"

"But Tenten-san!"

"LEE! LET GO OF MY ARM!"

At this tug-a-war battle went on, with the girl tugging and the boy pulling, Tenten snapped her head back with her hair in a disarray and wished for ALL the hopes in the world the Cute Coffee Shop Guy was still there.

And hopefully he had not seen this childish play.

Tenten shook off Lee's arm.

Yes, he would be reading his book and drinking coffee as always, and she would walk over that with all her mighty cuteness and snatch him away with flashy eyes and sexy smiles.

Wait…**WHERE THE HELL IS HE!**

Tenten ran over to the table with madness.

Her dilated brown eyes roved all around the shop and over the patio table, seeing only an empty cup of coffee dregs. He was not there reading his book or drinking coffee. His seat was empty and still warm from his body heat, and the table was empty, and the entire place was empty and barren of Future Mister Tenten!

_NOOOOOOOOOOO! _

She snapped her head towards Lee, scaring the living hell out of the Genius of Hard Work when she glared at him with a terrifying Tenten-style glare and snarling frothing mouth. Horns had sprouted out and blazing fires surrounded the once cute brunette. Rock Lee looked at her with worried eyes when she gave off an image of rapid dog.

"Tenten, something's wrong with your eyes!"

"**You have five seconds to run away…**"

"Tenten-san—"

"**One**."

"What—"

"**Two**."

"Are—"

"**Three**."

"You—"

"**Four**."

"Talking—"

"**Five**."

"About—_AHHHHHHHHHHHH!_"

"**Soushouryu no Jutsu! **_Rising Twin Dragons!_"

**Intermission**

"Man, that Tenten can kick ass…" Naruto chuckled, hugging the waist of his stunned girlfriend.

"Uh, N-Naruto-kun, m-maybe we s-s-should h-help L-Lee-san…" Hinata stuttered, gripping the front of the blonde's shirt.

"Wait, wait, give it another two minutes…"

**Intermission**

Sakura blinked when she turned her head around at the sound of manly screaming and sharp clashing sounds of metal. She didn't really catch what was happening in the commotion. The young woman scooped up the last of the noodles from her porcelain bowl and slurped up the last dregs of the brown miso soup. Her tongue swept across her pale pink lips and she placed her chopsticks across the circular rims. She got up from her seat, patting and brushing down on her black and red skirt free of the dust she had captured from the alley.

Sakura slide swiftly from her stool and waved good-bye to the ramen cook and his daughter, accidentally and embarrassingly hooking her foot on one of the plastic chairs in the restaurant. She would have fallen ungracefully, but a firm grip on her biceps held her securely.

She winced at the tightened pain and pushed herself up. She had unconsciously moved closer to the warmth that had 'saved' her from this disaster. Sakura felt a strong unyielding aura enclosed in front of her body.

The eighteen-year old woman looked up hastily and was met up with a set of black glasses.

Her breathing hitched and she stood on her won two feet quickly, with flushed cheeks.

_Shino_

He still wore a long thick green coat that went down to his thighs with the high collar flap covering half of his pale face. He was wearing black trousers strapped on with his holster and pack, and strapped blue sandals. His wild dark hair was combed and tightly bound by his shiny blue hitae-ate. His statue was tall and towering as he looked down on her with his sunglasses, all this had given off an intimidating and lean look.

Not only was there a few customers and the Ichiraku owners that had witness this golden moment, but also the Hokage herself standing behind this spectacled figure grinning with a sumptuous smile. NOTHING HAPPENED YOU SLUG SANNIN! She screamed in her mind.

Sakura shook herself from this awful reverie, wanting to run through a wall.

"Good day, Tsunade-sensei! Shino-san…" she murmured, a squeak etched itself into her tiny voice. The Godaime's grin widened.

The young medic-nin cursed herself of this day damnation.

"Hello, Sakura-san," Aburame Shino replied in acknowledgement, not even reacting in any way of the incident.

"_Ohayo_ Sakura-_chan_…" Tsunade drawn out, Sakura desperately wanted to claw off that grin.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama!" The Ichiraku owner waved respectfully from behind the counter, "Care for any of Fire Country's best ramen!"

"Thank you, but no thank you," the blond woman glanced lightly at Sakura, "Actually I came here to introduce you to your team, Sakura…"

"Really!" Sakura cried excitedly, jumping up and down like a little girl being introduced to ice cream and sweets.

"Yeah, Shino here is one of the team members…I think you two were already _acquainted_…" Tsunade stifled a laugh, covering her peach lips with her hand. Sakura's entire face was crimson as she shook Shino's still hand.

"She's know about me…" Shino whispered, nodding when their hands parted.

"Oh! Good, then," Tsunade smiled lightly at the Aburame, her hazel eyes looked at Sakura with amusement. Her pupil was absolutely mortified, trying her best to look away. She was more concerned with herself and the stuttering of her squeaky voice to notice who walked up from behind her.

"I hope I wasn't late…"

She turned her head around to be face to face with another tall figure. But he was only taller than her by a few inches. This figure had the most extraordinary eyes of silvery-white orbs that glimmering a wave of violet in the sunlight. His long coffee-brown hair had combed and neatly tied into a low ponytail that reached to under his hips. His face was pale and strong, with a long straight nose and sculpted pale lips. He wore long white robes with a black tied obi around his waist, his forehead protector tied over his bandaged forehead. Inner Sakura, being only a counterpart and a figment of her imagination, gawked slack-jawed at the young man and the Hot Guy Alert was ringing instantly in the mind. Sakura wasn't very pleased, rolled her eyes, and just ignored her inner self.

The young woman narrowed her emerald spheres in blossoming realization.

_Hinata's cousin_, she thought to herself, _oh right, Hyuuga Neji, I remember him…Is he my captain?_

"Only by a few seconds, good day to you Neji," Tsunade smiled, running her hand over his collarbone in mirth when she watched her student looking skeptically at the Hyuuga prodigy.

Hyuuga Neji nodded to Aburame Shino, having been on a few missions with him in his Chuunin years. Neji frowned upsettingly when he laid his eyes on _her_. And he was not impressed.

This woman had dull pink hair and childish green eyes that moved all around him. She gave off a strong smell of pork ramen and badly scented lotion. She was overly dressed and her Jounin vest was unzipped to show off a useless white circle symbol contrasting with dark red fabric. Her clothes were wrinkled, dusty, and chalked—is that a _twig_ in her hair? What the hell had she been doing? _Mopping herself on the floor? _Hell, her hitae-ate was almost slipping off her forehead. He had seen numerous nameless beauties in his life, and this girl was definitely not one of them. He remembered all her qualifications like the back of his hand, and it didn't seem to match her image.

This plain weak girl is the unlucky creature who the Uchiha bastard fell for?

_And_ his new comrade?

He groaned, and grunted at the girl's staring, "See something you like?" he muttered, unimpressed.

Sakura broke out of her trance, and shook her head indifferently, "Unfortunately no…"

Before Neji could attack her with the Sixty-Four Hands of Hakke for his deflated ego, Tsunade reached out a hand and placed a firm grasp on Sakura's head and noogied her pink head like a child. Sakura growled and grimaced unpleasantly when her back was pushed against the famous giant over-enlarged breasts of the Slug Sannin. She hunched her shoulders with a shudder.

"I think Tobio is late…" Tsunade whispered, with a tone she had never used.

When the three Jounins looked up to see the face of the Hokage, her look in her eyes and the peach grin had enhanced into devilish and menacing. She hugged Sakura closer to her chest, nearly suffocating the girl. Neji and Shino looked at the older woman with raised brows.

"Danno Tobio had been a Jounin for the last seven weeks, and unluckily has not found a team that would accept him," Tsunade's grin could have made the Devil scream like a little girl, "He has some…_unusual_ factors to him. I had had a lot of trouble getting him somewhere. He has been in your class, Sakura, Shino…I don't think you might have thought much about him…but I'm quite sure you three would be get along fine with the…uh, newly assigned Jounin member—"

"**HEY!** WAIT FOR ME!"

Tsunade's grin intensified, "Speak of the devil."

A tall skinny young man ran towards them in the middle of the street, with a huge blue knapsack and a heavy duffel bag strapped over his right shoulder. The boy was the same age as both Sakura and Shino, with russet hair that was tied into mid-ponytail, light brown skin, and he was dressed into his green Jounin vest and navy trousers with black sandals. A huge smile was literally stapled on his boyish face. Nothing was wrong with him, what could have made him unusual? Besides the fact that he was overly happy—

"Okay, watch closely and you'll know…" Tsunade whispered, still grinning as she huddled the three shinobis together.

Tobio was still walking towards them.

Sakura blinked and tilted her head.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses.

Neji raised a brow, letting out an impatient growl.

"Hokage-sama, I don't know what you're pulling but nothing's wrong with—"

Not a lot of people would have cared that his giant duffel bag was zipped up to the edge only enclosing around a long white handle of some mystery weaponry. Tobio walked carefully, and overly happy to finally find a secure team of respectful Jounins to really be concerned about a red rubber ball rolling by his feet—right?

But he did see the ball, so he moved to the side for a little boy with freckles on his nose to pick it up. Though Tobio backed up a little too far, the white handle in his duffel bag had accidentally swung and hit a piece of orange fruit (an orange), which caused the other fruits to be pushed and rolled off the stand and onto the cement floor, the many oranges were still rolling, the first person to come out of the shop blindly was a man carrying boxes high enough to cover his eyes, he slipped on one orange and with a cry, the items from inside of the top box flew out and ricocheted off on a tall ladder where a young worker in an apron had fallen off and grabbed on a sign she was hanging up, and swung to the other side of the shop, falling off and knocking the pyramid of cans which almost hit an old man and his grandson, whose elderly elbow thrust against a middle-aged woman who cried in surprise and pushed a man who was repainting his shop, kicking hard on the stool that held the bucket of assorted paints to spill and a brush to fly across to land on several Genin shinobi who flopped down and somehow their weaponry of kunai and shuriken to shoot out at civilians and hit glass windows and breaking objects, frightening the pigeons on the rooftops when sharp edges almost cut right through them, flapping their wings quickly not even caring if their sharp claws scratched the faces and bare flesh of other unaffected people who screamed and exclaimed in pain, knocking into more things and a kunai that hit a fire hydrant that had released, sprouting powerful blasts of water at people and alerting ninja dogs to run amok and bumping into the villager's legs, and ripped open the spilled cable wires and kunais slipped from inside the duffel bag so Tobio bent down to pick them up.

Haruno Sakura was staring at him with wide eyes.

Aburame Shino's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Tsunade grinned wider and wider.

Danno Tobio was fidgeting and turned his head around, and instantly was biting his nails.

"I-Is i-it my f-fault?"

Hyuuga Neji glared intensely at the Hokage with raging white eyes, "I WILL NOT HAVE A JINX ON MY TEAM!"

And all was history.

**To Be Continued**

_Haha, a little madness here and there. Please wait patiently for the next chapter. _

_Danno Tobio is not an OC, next chapter you'll find out where you'd seen him. _


	12. Daily Happenings: 12:57 am

**Disclaimer:** Honey, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_AN_:** I DON'T HAVE HOMEWORK TODAY! WOO! Enjoy this update!

_Daily Happenings_: 12:57 pm

The chakra moved fluidly through her body, flowing into the stream ways to her fingertips, pouring out of the pores of her palm, and surrounded her entire right hand like a fluorescent silvery glove. Spindly veins developed around her white eyes, dilating them into transparent mirrors that glimmered gray and purple. She smirked at the perfected chakra manipulation she had managed to do. So far so good, only a few more days of punctual training she would be able to perform the jutsu with an accurate use of the Byakugan.

Hanabi slid her left foot to the side and lifted up her right arm to be parallel to her bent knee. She lowered her left hand, palm up, down to her left foot and slightly pulled up her chin to look straight forward at the human-like dummy strapped around a tree. She grinned when she was able to search out the invisible conscious circle of deep green and hollow black, shining the perfect balanced symbol of the Yin and Yang.

With feline strength and grace, she moved to the dance as if she was the Blue-Throated Shiva walking magically through orange red flames of holy fires. With many of her multiple arms, her fingers flicked and mixed with one and other like water ripples. Her feet curved with her heels positioned in diverse ways, moving every necessary joint.

When each of her chakra-glowing fingers had touched each of the vital points of the dummy, the doll had exploded to streams of blackened burnt sand that spilled onto the grass like waterfalls. Soon only the rough fabric of the figure became only a raggedy old torn bag. The young Hyuuga smiled in satisfaction, taking in a deep breath.

Even though she wasn't as gifted as the prodigy Hyuuga Neji or her father, she wasn't very far off.

Her glimmering hitae-ate was tied tightly around her waist, connecting the most important things in her life: the Hyuuga Clan and Hidden Leaf Village.

She was already thirteen years old, going onto fourteen, with long raven hair that she left untied with two strands hanging in front of her signature Hyuuga marble eyes. Her developed muscles were shown on her small lean figure. Hanabi was clad in her everyday training long-sleeved shirt and pants of black cotton, with only the contrasting colors of bright red and yellow of the Hyuuga symbol on her forearm sleeve had shown brightly through the newspaper hues. Her Chuunin vest was folded neatly on a patch of fresh grass, just waiting to be worn.

Wiping sweat from her forehead, twining her slender fingers through her silky hair, she bounced to the cry in the distance. She turned her head quickly to the source of the noise. She flashed on her Byakugan, seeing only that of black and white through the stone cement and bamboo wooden walls.

It was from the Hyuuga Mansion tiled rooftop, two figures running through the household and snickers of success was heard. A stream of kunai and shuriken went flying on them. Three of her fellow Hyuugas in their late teenage years were yelling out curses and scolds at the two troublemakers.

Hanabi rolled her eyes, snapping out of her eye jutsu and placed her hand on her hip.

It was just _them_.

Two boys, who were around her age, had flew over the training field. One was taller and skinnier with a split bowl-cut of dark brown hair and a pair of round glasses pushed up to his black eyes was huffing and puffing through his inhaler sucking in his mouth as buckets of sweat poured off his stick-figure body. His face was contorted into utmost panic and fear. His nose was leaking snot and his mouth was scorched from the long morning's chase after his troublemaking friend.

The other boy had a giant smile on his tan face and a high tuft of dark hair tied with his favorite forehead protector, adorned with a trailing green scarf that flew from behind his speed that he soared through the sky like a flying squirrel. His green Chuunin vest was zipped high up to the collar line to show his pride in Konoha and his old pair of goggles had rest its place around his neck. Muscles worked his place into his body as he sped up roof after roof from the Hyuugas that chased after the brats.

"Aw! Come on Udon! You are such a caution freak!" Konohamaru laughed like a hyena, leaping off the rooftop.

"Konohamaru! I told you we were going to be in so much trouble!" Udon cried, his breathing became raspy when he ran after his overly-ecstatic comrade, "Oh dammit! Ebisu-sensei is going to _kill_ us!"

Konohamaru scoffed disbelievingly with a smirk at his teammate, "What's the _Closet Pervert_ going to do to us?"

"COME BACK HERE YOU TWO RUNTS!" One of the Hyuuga members screamed behind them, the guards themselves were worn out.

"HEY HANABI UP HERE!" Konohamaru exclaimed, whistling through two fingers when he leaped, like a proclaimed god he was, through the sunny sky with the golden orb that shined his figure emitting a wondrous feature and to have looked down to see the ice princess herself sweat-dropping at their activity.

Hanabi snorted when their forms disappeared, picking up her training trance again.

"_Idiots_."

**

* * *

**

"Man! That Tenten sure can worn Fuzzy Brows out!" Naruto laughed non-stop when he heaved the tattered remains of the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha Rock Lee over his shoulder.

Not only did Tenten emitted her Twin Dragons on the leotard-clad boy, but also several showers of shuriken and kunai of all sorts and shapes, setting off a least three small explosive tags, with her seventy kicks and seventy punches. She had also scratched, slapped, burned, marked, and bit. Naruto snorted in amusement.

Hinata grimaced bashfully at the many bruises and cuts on Lee's body as she held on his other arm, mentally calculating how much of her special herbal cream she would need to rub on his raw flesh wounds.

Lee had two black eyes, scratches on his cheeks and burnt hairs of his thick eyebrows, sliced patches of bald spots on his bowl cut, a giant purple shiner was painted on his face, his skin-tight green jumpsuit was ripped and torn in all possible ways that his whole chest was showing, his Jounin vest had to be dry-cleaned immediately before the blood stains set in, his orange leg warmers were fried and dangling on his ankles that were being dragged by his two companions, blood was smeared and dripping from his broken nose, his Adam's apple was bruised slightly but not as badly as his arms and legs had taken, and slices of the green fabric were caused by the huge shower of weapons and sharpened edges of Tenten's fanatic attempts to punish him for her second round of failure in her hooking up plan.

'_So about a bazillion healing creams would do_,' Hinata thought, groaning from the pressure when Lee leaned more of his weight on her delicate shoulder.

"Hey, hey, I know you're in pain but that doesn't mean you have permission to be caressing my girlfriend!" Naruto teased nastily, earning both glares from the Taijutsu Specialist and the heiress.

"_I'm not in pain!_" Lee forced out of his gritted mouth, slowly trying to stand on his own feet sandaled feet but fell back effortlessly.

"W-We should take you to the Hokage-sama immediately…" Hinata whispered, full of concern.

"I have no i-idea what was going on with Tenten-san, s-she seemed so _weird_ lately," Lee contemplated, putting more weight on the couple. Naruto and Hinata scowled, pushing up his arms before he actually suffocates them.

"Do you think she might not be feeling well?" Rock Lee asked, thoughtfully and worriedly, "She's not herself anymore!"

The couple glanced at each other.

"U-Uh…I-I d-don't t-think t-that's what i-it i-is, L-Lee-k-kun…" Hinata stuttered, turning pink.

Lee turned to Naruto's electric blue eyes, "What do you think it might be?"

The Uzumaki snickered, not even bothering to lie to the boy, "Gah, Lee! She's trying to hook up with a guy!"

"What do you mean by 'hooking up?' She can already hang out with me!" Lee exclaimed, still oblivious to _naughty_ things.

Hinata blushed, looking away with embarrassment.

Naruto smiled a lecherous grin that could have had Jiraiya run for his money.

"**I WILL NOT HAVE A JINX ON MY TEAM!**"

Hyuuga Neji huffed and puffed like the Big Bad Wolf, ready to blow out some tornadoes, with the vein in his temple thumping sickeningly and his face was contorted into the tempered red colors of fury and anger. Haruno Sakura and Aburame Shino were taken back by the surprise roar coming from such a once composed and patient man. Danno Tobio was scared shitless and weapons in his duffel bag had torn through the fabric with kunais and sharp edges falling aimlessly on the dirt ground. The Fifth Hokage looked absolutely amused with her fingers curling under her chin as she observed the elite Jounin.

"I apologize, Neji-san, but you must oblige…" Tsunade murmured softly, with a mirthful grin.

"OBLIGE! HELL I WILL OBLIGE!" Neji bellowed, causing even blind kids to cry, "I WILL NOT ALLOW A HAZARD ON MY TEAM! HE WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME!"

"_Good riddance_…" Tobio whispered, in one of his short bursts when he clapped his hand over his mouth.

Neji glared at the bad luck ninja Hyuuga-style, turning his fiery white eyes at the Godaime, "What have I done to deserve this punishment…?"

The blonde smirked, "Well, nothing."

"Then _why_…?" His voice pressured every word that came out of his mouth.

The vein on his forehead could have burst at any moment.

"Since you did everything so well, and that all your missions were successful and not one failure—I just that you might like a…er, _challenge_…"

"_IAMANELITEJOUNINANDIWILLNOTHAVEAFRICKINGJINXONMYTEAMDAMMIT!" _Neji breathed fire. Tsunade snickered.

Sakura grimaced, whispering to Shino, "What's with that vein?" She pointed at Neji's forehead.

Shino pushed his sunglasses closer to his eyes with a sigh, "Don't ask."

"You'd been with Neji on a few missions, right?"

Shino looked at her lightly, "Yes."

Sakura glanced at the angry Neji, questioning, "Has…he ever been…this way…?"

Shino looked at Neji too, "Yes."

"To who?"

"I'm not sure."

"Should I be afraid…?"

"Be very afraid."

**

* * *

**

He'd remember he'd seen such amber hair tied into four ponytails in that state. With sharp dark forest green eyes that almost appeared like a hawk's with long dark eyelashes that made her look menacing yet enticing. Her lips were strewed into smirks and flirty smiles, and especially the pouts that had every man on their knees. The cobalt yukata dress had hugged her figure to most delicious way that young men ran into poles just looking at her. The way she moved her hips side to side seductively even though it was unintentional, but her curvaceous body had always caught anyone's attention.

Especially his.

She turned once, a fraction more, and then her entire front was turned to him. Her eyes widened, her smile enlarged with her white straight teeth showing. She waved with enthusiasm and ran over to his side with her giant lacquer black fan strapped to her back.

Oh, he dreads.

"Shika-kun! There you are!"

"You're here?" he asked, raising a slender brow.

"Well yeah!" Temari exclaimed, as if it were so obvious.

"Hn, good to see you," Shikamaru greeted.

And he was.

Though he enjoyed her visit a lot more if it weren't for the other men glaring at the lazyass.

"Last I heard you were getting married!" Temari threw her arms around him, her hair in his face, "Congratulations!"

She smelled like a meadow.

Shikamaru blinked, wondering where you could find a meadow in the Sand Village.

"When did you propose!" Temari exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Two months ago."

"What!" She hit his arm playfully, "And you didn't tell me!"

"Sorry," he said monotone.

"To who!" she asked, excited, "When can I meet her!"

It wasn't brain surgery yet his mouth wasn't moving.

Wait a minute…

_Kuso!_

"Shika-kun? Yo, Shikamaru…?" her hand waved in front of his face.

How the hell did he forget the occasion?

"Goddamn it, _Ino_…" he muttered.

_She's going to kill him. _

Shikamaru ran away.

Temari cried after him.

Oh crap, he just remembered something.

He was supposed to meet her parents.

_Troublesome. _

**

* * *

**

He swore he saw that person somewhere.

He watched the scenery behind them, the fire hydrant going off crazy as middle-aged men tried their best to shut it off. He watched the children and women hide inside the shops and apartment lobbies. He watched the ninja dogs being restrained. He watched more and more villagers picking up fallen kunais and shurikens. He watched a pile of oranges rolling around with bruised peels and vitamin-C filled juices creating puddles. He watched people glaring at that person whose identity he had forgotten.

He tried his best to remember his name.

He watched the Hokage walking away with a satisfied smirk on her peach lips. He watched the Branch Member twist on his heel and stalk up to that person like a military officer with an absolutely pissed-off look. He watched the vein on his bandaged forehead grow bigger. He watched Sakura-chan and the Bug Freak look cautiously at his approaching form with a battered Thickbrows on his shoulder and his girlfriend's.

He watched Neji use his height as an advantage to measure himself down on the shaking stranger, while establishing his rules.

"From now on, you stay at least two feet away from me. You will obey my rules. You will not take a step without my permission. You will not sneeze without my permission. You will not go to the restroom without my permission. You will not talk to another person without my permission. If you talk to me, if you speak to me, your jugular is mine to choke. If you touch me, your hands will be severed and framed on my mantle. If you—"

"Yo Neji, maybe you should cool it…" Sakura-chan laughed nervously.

The Prodigy glared fiercely at the pink-haired beauty, "Fine, but I'm telling you that this klutz better not mess up any of my missions."

"He won't, you just don't give him any faith," the medic-nin pressured, her hands akimbo.

Neji glanced at the shaking fool with analyzing eyes, dismissing him immediately, "He seems very useless for a ninja."

"WHAT? I'm not!" the brown-skinned man cried, puffing up his chest like a peacock, "I have many qualities! Wait until you see!" He quickly unzipped his duffel bag accidentally letting tons of cable wires and sharp-edged weapons spill out, missing his big toe by seconds. He coughed into a fisted hand, "T-that wasn't part o-of it…"

"You have to be kidding, I know your records like the back of my hand," the Branch Member gazed deeply down on the young man, "You're not as skillful to be in my team."

The boyish face contorted into a deep crease of hurt, picking up the last of his dignity, "Then explain how I got to be Jounin!"

"Probably by dumb luck…" he muttered to himself, not even caring what the shinobi had to say.

"Hey! I was very good in my examinations!" his face faltered a bit, "Though I didn't exactly passed with _flying colors_…" he whispered to himself, grinning nervously,

"Fine then," Neji narrowed his eyes, watching his eyes clumsily sparkle, "Show up tomorrow morning for Cell Twenty-Six's first training so I can evaluate you."

"Y-Yes," the jinx murmured, embarrassed with happiness.

"But I'm just amazed on how you became Jounin in the first place…" the Hyuuga stuck up his nose in impatience, "You don't seem to be very useful…"

"You're really not being fair!" the ninja cried, furrowing his brows, "I am very useful! I can do many amazing things! The Danno Clan is known very well for their specialties!"

"_The Danno Clan?_ What clan?" Neji snorted, anal-retentively, "Aren't you the first ninja in several generations after your great-great-great-grandfather?" Like he had mentioned before, he knew everyone's records like the back of his hand—oh cool, is that a freckle? Wait, anyway—

"…yeah—but I'm great! Wait until you see what I can do!" the tan-skinned boy boasted, swinging his gigantic duffel bag over his thin shoulder almost collapsing backwards. Just looking at that poor fool had given everyone the impression of a weakling, with his breakable twig body and limp noodle legs. The ridiculous yellow X-smiley sticker was pasted on his loose hitae-ate had him hopelessly judged as a child, not that of a Jounin.

It was then Naruto noticed something. That face. That hair. That voice. Those clumsy movements. Those jumpy steps he took. The shade of blue he wore underneath his Jounin vest. Those cheeks. That skin. Those eyes. That hand. That elbow—

(_GASP!)_

A flashback came back to him. All the way back to his very early Genin days, probably the first day—yeah, now that he remembered, it was the first day.

It was such a naïve year when Chibi Naruto had a huge crush on cute Sakura-chan, dressed in his ridiculous orange jumpsuit and tied around his head was his hitae-ate—or Iruka-sensei's. He grinning like an idiot, all proud when he passed the uninitiated final exam after administering a thousand Kage-Bunshins on Mizuki-sensei—and he sure kicked that traitor's ass—but that's not the point.

The point was when he sat where Sakura-chan wanted to sit, she pushed him away and started to flaunt at Sasuke-teme—who thought he was all cool with his chicken-back hair and rock-like sitting position. Did he mention he was a bastard?

Well, it was then when Naruto became rivals with Sasuke-kun, joining the three-man team with Sakura-chan and that pervert Kakashi-sensei reading that disgusting book and also set off the Thousand Years of Pain Technique on his ass! My gods it hurt like hell—wait, wait, that's going overboard. Who did that guy remind him of? Oh right—

He could have swore he, being the hot guy he was, had jumped on the table and crouched to Sasuke-teme's level with a fierce glare to make any pussy scream bloody murder. Then, then he could have sworn something ricochet off his ass—

An elbow. A brown-tan-skinned elbow connected to a thin shoulder to a twig neck to a this boyish face with that kind of tied hair and blue hitae-ate, but without that stupid smiley stick—

THEN he KISSED Sasuke-TEME!

_(GASP AGAIN!)_

It was disgusting! It was like kissing Akamaru, that stupid white mutt that Kiba brings with him in his hood, but at least the dog would have had the consideration to eat a mint or something—

HOLD UP! Did he just mention an elbow had pushed him towards Sasuke's fish lips?

That elbow had belonged to a person who he thinks is that person but not really sure who that person is but maybe he ask another person who probably knew that person personally and confirm it like a mature adult—

Things in his mind began to click.

_(GASP SOME MORE!_)

"**YOU FUCKING JINX!**" Uzumaki Naruto exclaimed, his eyes flaring up.

(_Faint!_)

His lips tinged, his cheeks burned with fire of still upsetting humiliations. Like a sword that stabbed through his pride, he dropped Lee like a sack of potatoes on top of his shocked girlfriend. The people around them stared at the demon vessel like he was crazy. It was then Tobio jumped back when he noticed him, and recognized, and remembered that Academy accident.

"I-It w-wasn't m-my fault!" He squealed, already running backwards and molding his chakra around his feet to leap away, knocking down a pile of newspapers and pigeons.

"COME BACK HERE YOU STUPID JINX!" Naruto growled, folding the sleeves around his arms.

"Naruto!" Sakura-chan yelled, "What the hell are you doing!"

"N-Naruto-k-kun! S-Stop!" Hinata, who remembered Tobio, had accidentally dropped the heaping mass of Lee on the ground.

Rock Lee crumpled on the dirt, groaned in pain. Hinata shrieked, clapping a hand over her mouth and picked up his body apologizing over and over again. Tobio was literally running away, Neji was yelling back for him.

"HEY! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!" Neji exclaimed at Tobio, being held back by Sakura. Naruto went full speed, for his pride and God's speed, he will not be humiliated. Soon the two fools began to chase each other all around the rooftops, bouncing off porches and windows, breaking off pipes attachments and tiles. For some ironic reason, Tobio seemed to know how to control his speed as he dashed away from near death and had tickled sealed fate.

"Oh God! Lee-san! How the heck did you get beaten up so badly!" Sakura cried, seeing all those cuts and bruises. Rock Lee chuckled nervously.

"W-Well there i-is an e-explanation…" Lee smiled clumsily.

"Get down here now Danno!" Neji yelled, forcing himself not to engage in this idiotic child's play.

While Hinata squealed and whimper at the excitement of Naruto and Tobio race, residents began to come out their shops and stop yelling out their wares, they all watched and clapped in applause at the terribly put on show. Naruto, with his Kill-Jinx signs and Tobio, with his Not-My-Fault logos, and Sakura with her typical I-Need-to-Heal medic behavior over Lee's I'm-Fine tactics, Neji's going off with his human-hose Worship-Me yells, only stood a single sane, kind of weird, guy in the middle.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses, as he watched all this, "Oh. Tobio. I remember him."

**To Be Continued**

_Yes folks, that concludes today's daily happenings of Hanabi's training, Konohamaru and Udon's troublemaking, Tenten kicking Lee's ass, Naruto and Hinata hoisting up the injured fool, Shikamaru meets Temari and almost forgets to meet Ino and her parents for lunch, Neji bitching with Tsunade, Tobio being introduced, Neji threatens Tobio, Naruto chases Tobio, Sakura acts the nurse, Hinata tries to calm things over, and Shino stands lone. _

_Sorry, but you have to wait for the update. _

_Training will begin next chapter!_

**To **Senko: No, Tobio is _NOT_ an OC. His behavior, personality, and last name is just made up by the authoress LiveLoveLaugh.


	13. Misinterpreted: 6:35 am

**Disclaimer:** Sir or Madam, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men.

**_AN_:** Further notes, I'm sorry to say that this story would not include shoujo-ai, yuri, yaoi, incest, slash, bi, or shounen-ai. Sorry to those who wanted them. Enjoy the update!

_Misinterpreted_: 6:35 am

_FWOOSH!_

He flew from one giant branch to another, carefully administering his steps on each rough bark, hurriedly trying not to make a single whisper of noise. He had exchanged his robes for a set of black training attire with the red and yellow fire symbol of the Hyuuga Clan. He still wore his black boots, strapping tight for each run he took around the giant training field. He had purposely tucked in his low ponytail into his collar. He would be damned if any of his hair got caught into any of those stupid traps that jinx had set up.

He narrowed his brows into a curve down to his nose bridge, bringing into a strong concentration of each Byakugan dilated white eyes. The veins had marred his smooth cheeks. His lips were taut and unmoving. Everywhere he saw around him were black and white, pushing his chakra into his blind spot. He looked around at every nook and cranny he could speculate. He pounded his foot at every leafy branch, sending himself off like a speeding bullet. Lucky for his eyes, he was able to see all the traps. He had dodged nearly each clear cable wire that had crisscrossed the entire square mile of the forest, each wire that had been masked with unique Genjutsu and hidden well.

Danno was clearly trying to put up both a balance of defense and offense by setting up all these traps. Some even including trenches and ditches shaded by a proper fold of dirt and grass, hiding every mistake possible, backing up every backup, alarmingly masquerading every weak length, all by measuring every calculated surroundings. And he was able to do all these four dozen mathematical ambushes all just to prove he was worth something.

The Hyuuga smiled indignantly.

He should've known better than underestimate Tobio, who is indeed one hell of a traps specialist.

Neji skid to a halt, on one high branch of a tall tree.

It was long way down, surrounded by branches, shadows, and murky landing that a nasty fall from his height could break one's neck and a spine or two. Hell, even death. He turned his activated white eyes across the high area, seeing every mastered tied cable wires, folded sand, dirt, and cuts of each tree bark.

He smirked.

A jinx would always be a jinx.

He lazily took out an oiled kunai from his pouch bag and aimed it at a direct several long yards away from him with perfected target. A soar of rapid sounds was created with the sharp edges of the dagger had cut through the air, right into a shadowed branch. Just then he could see the kunai hit a specific certain wire with a _snap_.

And Neji could see perfectly of Tobio's hidden form, his face contorted into outrageous shock.

Soon enough, a roar of clashing metals and flying weaponry came forth, every large chopped trunk of some trees smashed with one and other, every tight pull of the cable wires had snapped and broke like a rubber band, every single detailed of the ensnare was completely destroyed. They had crumbled down fast and hastily, smashing down every tree branch with its leaves flying apart like a green shower of ignited trouble and evil, skinning each effort the jinx had put into his work, dropped onto the large clearing down on the murky landing, creating a giant _boom!_

A vast smoke arose and took over the small part of the forest.

When every trap had fallen on the crumbling mass of ruined chances, Neji shut off his eyes and took a step off the branch and sent his body falling down with grace, his hair coming out of his collar and gliding across the back of his neck with silky movements, every tress in its own long lengths and coffee-hued quality. As the dust fog had cast over, Neji landed on the clearing in front of Tobio's broken experiments. Tobio came out with a gaping mouth and slumped thin shoulders.

"H-How d-did you do THAT?" he cried in astonishment, bending down hastily like a wild man and picked up several kunai off the ground that surrounded the trench, "You just h-had sent ONE kunai a-and i-i-i-it _destroyed_ ALL my TRAPS!"

"My eyes can see everything," Neji replied nonchalantly, standing over the devastated Jounin.

"Well sure! But my _traps_…" Tobio groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration, "…_ah_…I spent a lot of my chakra trying to finish this project so I can trap you! I used my super jutsu but THAT sure didn't work—"

"I'm sure you did," Neji whispered, not caring what he had to say, "But I'd like it if you clean up your mess, we need to meet back with Shino and Sakura at the meeting place—"

(_Uh oh!_)

With a cry, he fell into a pothole.

He had twisted on his heel and touched a sensitive spot of the ground with an absentmindedly placed foot, accidentally collapsing into a weak circle of dirt and fell into one of the ditches Tobio had set up but forgot about. It had happened so fast that even Neji didn't expect it. The rookie stared with amazement, and staggered on his feet to see if Neji was okay. Tobio stood over the dug up deep trench, he saw a conscious hurt heap of dirty Hyuuga anger. With a disgusting spat of dirt and aching leg muscles, the very irritated Branch Member got back up and dusted off his black sleeves.

Oh yeah, not only was he utterly humiliated but Neji was also in one of the bad luck ninja's cultivated holes.

"_You saw nothing_," he emphasized agitatedly, watching Tobio grinned his biggest grin.

**Intermission**

The sun had gleamed through the window and burned her pale back, heating the tiny plastic clasps of her camisole straps that itched against her skin. She had worn this bright sapphire blue lace and a pair of pin-striped pajama bottoms with dancing teddy bear patterns, an absolute despicable replica of _fashion disaster_.

Because blue lace camisole was for sexy stuff and pin-stripe cartoon pants was for funny things, an _awful_ mix of most things! It had always been her number one rule that she had to look good twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and fifty-six days of the year, especially before going to sleep. It was already bad enough she woke up with bad rancid breath and messy hair, it didn't mean she had to look bad in awful sleeping clothes.

No matter how much her fiancé tried to calm her bitchy side of things, he would always make things better by staying overnight.

But not today, oh no not today…

Not only had she had dressed herself so badly to go to sleep, with her equally devastating breath and tangled hair, she was _enraged_. She watched Shikamaru snooze on and on. With her narrowed cobalt eyes, she watched the slouched back of the sleeping man. She slowly moved her eyes over his possessive grip of the blankets, over his knuckles, up his strong well-muscled arm, to his broad shoulder, to the back of his long neck, to the drool he left on his own pillow he had bought over from his apartment (so he didn't have to drool on her's).

She angrily kept thinking about yesterday, and yesterday was probably the most angry she had felt about Nara Shikamaru. She laced her neatly purple polished nails over the blanket covers. Ino wrenched off the sheets which send Shikamaru off the bed.

(_Bang!_)

"Ino! Why did the _hell_ did you kick me out of bed!" Shikamaru stood up when the first pounding his already bruised face had taken.

"YOU ARE SUCH A JERK SHIKA-KUN!" She screamed, folding her arms with animatedly teary eyes.

Realization dawned on the sleepyhead.

"…oh _god_, you're still thinking about yesterday aren't you…?" the Nara lazyass groaned at the shooting pains on his hip.

Her messy hair had changed into sharp ringlets, "WELL YEAH!" Ino exclaimed, angrily.

"Ino…how many times do I have to say sorry…?"

"ABOUT A HUNDRED MORE YOU ROTTEN JERK!"

Well, the readers already know he was too lazy to say anymore.

(_You bet cha!_)

Shika yawned tiredly, scratching his armpit, "I just forgot about the lunch plans with your parents…I'm sorry, okay?"

"_WAH!_ MY BOYFRIEND IS SO HORRIBLE TO ME!" Ino squealed with her face buried into her pillow.

"Come on Ino-chan…how can I make it up for you…?" Shikamaru groaned, watching horns sprout on Ino's head.

The Yamanaka girl arose from the sheets with blazing eyes.

"Make it up? MAKE IT UP?" Ino growled with intense fierceness, "YOU _DITCHED_ ME! I HAD TO MAKE UP SO MANY EXCUSES FOR YOUR GODDAMN ABSENCE SHIKA-KUN! MY PARENTS WERE _UTTERLY_ WORRIED!"

"Ino—"

"MY DAD WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE! MY MOM WAS ANGRY AT ME! THE DINNER WAS SERVED BUT NO ONE WAS THERE TO ENJOY IT! I WAS _HUMILIATED_ SHIKA-KUN!"

"Ino—"

"SHI-KA-MA-RU! YOU HAVE BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR YOUR TARDINESS! BECAUSE OF YOU I HAD TO POSTPONE! _POSTPONE!_ I NEVER HAD TO DO THAT! I WAS _SO_ HUMILIATED! AH! MY FIANCE IS _SO_ HORRIBLE TO ME! HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ME! I FEEL SO USED!"

"INO! WAIT A MINUTE!" Shikamaru yelled over the bitching.

Ino stopped.

He took a breath.

"Look…" He sighed, "…I was tardy because I saw Temari so I went over and said hi…I'm sorry okay? It kind of slipped my mind…"

The blonde stared at him with such pregnant silence, Shikamaru could have bet he left a river of sweat around his bare feet. He gulped when her eyelashes fluttered a bit and she used her to-kill-for violet nails to finger her unbound wheat-blond silky hair. She sniffled, with a large exhale that had the Nara almost run for his life, and had inhaled that had the shadow ninja widen his eyes for the pounding he would be taking.

She lifted up her eyes, "You saw Temari…?"

"Y-Yeah…I guess…"

A rush of blurry tears had blotted Ino's eyes. And that my folks, had Shikamaru panicking so badly.

"You saw another woman and forgot about ME!" Ino wailed.

Uh oh.

**Intermission**

"_They're yelling again?_"

Hinata sighed, lowering her white eyes on the speaker phone, "Yeah…"

A soft chuckling went through the machine.

"_Geez, what has gotten into them…?"_

"I don't know…I'm just happy we don't sound like that," Hinata grinned softly.

"'_Yup because we two_—" she imagined his fingers point to her then to himself, "—_are a hot couple!_"

Hinata giggled, snuggling up in her blankets with longing in her voice, "I wish you could spend the night…"

"_Sorry koishi, I have a mission with Ero-Sennin…how about next week?_"

"…okay," Hinata gave in with a moan of disappointment.

"_How's Thickbrows? Has he been healed?"_

"Yeah…Sakura is a miracle worker…"

"_Oh, that's good."_

Hinata's eyelashes fluttered, breathing near the speaker, "Naruto-kun…?"

"_Hm?_"

A moment's silence. She bit her lip.

"I-I love you…" she whispered serenely.

"Aw, _I miss you more_."

Her white eyes widened. Did she hear correctly?

"_I'll make it up for you, I promise, I just have to do this—_" a doorbell in the background rang, "—_shoot, he's at the door, I have to go. See you later, okay?_"

"Wait! Naruto-kun—"

"_Good bye, Hina-chan!_"

He hung up.

All Hyuuga Hinata could hear was the low buzz of the speaker phone.

**To Be Continued**

_I know, I know, this chapter wasn't the best of anything. Hell, it was one of the hardest I had to write for this story. _

_I'm updating another chapter right now, stay tune!_

And lastly of all, to anyone who doesn't like my stories—WHY IN THE WORLD ARE YOU STILL READING?

IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ IT!

AND STOP WASTING THE WRITER'S PRECIOUS TIME!—got that!

_Geez_.


	14. Bugging Her: 7:00 am

**Disclaimer:** Sugar, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow **

**Summary:** Sequel of Backstabbing Love In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men. But it also seems everyone else is putting up bets.

**_AN_:** Oh god, Neji fell into a ditch, Ino thinks Shikamaru likes other women, Hinata said 'I love you', and Naruto accidentally said the wrong thing. What has gotten into everyone? Anyway, there wasn't enough Sakura in the story—so here you go!

_Bugging_ Her: 7:00 am

She could easily feel the flow of chakra glide their ways to her gloved hand, stimulating such perfect manipulation. With fixed muscles at work, she began to arch her back, throw back her arm, and sent her fist flying to the ground.

_Crack!_

Her eyes widened.

Her knuckles were ripening to new blisters and bruises, only with a hit that painful could have broken her hand. She lifted it off the hard dirt ground with a loud high-pitched squeal and held it lose to her chest as she ached with such mind-blowing pain. It was almost suicidal, doing something like that. She groaned and kicked the untouched ground with irritation.

"_That fucking hurts!_ Ow! _This is so stupid of me!_" She clenched her teeth, danced around like an idiot.

Shino had watched the pink-haired kunoichi from afar with sympathy behind his lens, he had been watching her train for last thirty minutes. He didn't know of Sakura's skills, or of her records, he absolutely had no idea why she kept dispensing her chakra flow whenever she kept pounding the earth to smithereens. And he knew, from many experiences with Hinata, something was bugging her.

"Sakura-san, I think you should rest," he offered.

"N-No, this is a-alright!" Sakura waved off the pain like nothing, and grimaced when she did some quick medical Ninjutsu hand signs. Shino watched with interest as she performed a one-hand movement, her fingers snapping to green chakra while she traced at wound across the fabric of her ruddy glove, healing herself immediately. He had always wondered about medic-nins, and just watching one at work had him completely attentive.

Sakura wiped sweat from her brow, completely annoyed that she couldn't even perform one Taijutsu move in the last half hour! This was stupid!

What the hell was wrong with her?

Why can't she do something this elementary?

She was a JOUNIN for heaven's sakes!

She let out a battle cry and ran with inhuman speed, toward a lone tree. She thrust forward her fisted hand and smashed the bark with fierce concentration. When she let go after the huffing and puffing for desperate air, she had only saw a small round crater that only imbedded the tree by a few useless inches. Her hand hurt so terribly. She fell back on her behind, breathing resignedly as she winced at the sunshine rays that glared into her dull green eyes. What happened to _her?_

With such a move like that, she could have turned the tree to wood powder!

With a punch to the ground, she could've created earthquakes!

She closed her eyes, trying to shut out reality. Something happened to her, and she couldn't stop it from ruining her vision. When she opened her eyes, a boyish tan face appeared in front of her with a worried look.

"What's wrong Haruno-san?" Tobio asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. He had obviously arrived a second too late to see that ridiculous punch to the tree. When she didn't seem to be able to answer, he propped himself on the ground with those dark brown eyes of his.

When she noticed he was staring too long, she glanced at him with a raised brow, "Why are you looking at me that way…?"

Tobio snapped out of his reverie, scratching the back of his head with a nervous laugh, "Sorry, I just didn't think you'd be so pretty…"

Sakura was flattered, "Thank you, Tobio. You're not bad-looking yourself…"

"Of course," he nodded, then turned slightly serious, "But honestly, I can see why many men are infatuated with you."

A brow rose in his direction, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well…many of the men in the village had been very eager to see your face."

"Huh?"

"Uh, well, ever since you broke up with the Uchiha guy, you'd been very popular…"

Sakura blinked, "I still don't understand."

Tobio screwed his face into concentration, "Well, let's say many men want to date you."

"_What_—"

"Sakura, I need you to spar with Shino, right now," Hyuuga Neji had blocked her train of thoughts, putting his authority to scrutinize the two teammates. He was the captain after all, and needed to see the progress of his comrades.

"But I—"

"No buts Haruno, just get to the field _now_," Neji muttered, his ears burning.

Sakura picked herself off the dirt, dusting the backs of her training skirt and shorts. She breathed evenly and stood up to walk further to the middle of the dry dirt and gravel. She spot the small useless lump on the earth, she grimaced when she saw Shino looking at her through his dark lenses. He cocked his head to a small fraction and moved his hands out of his coat pockets. He twisted his body, twining the gray jacket to fold around his middle abdomen to show that he was lean and well muscled. He lifted his hands in front of him curling it. He spread his legs apart only slightly, the gleaming of the sunglasses burned blinding white in Sakura's direction.

"Whenever you're ready, Sakura-san," he replied, his furrowed brows narrowed to such vigor.

She was literally trembling. Never had she ever faced an opponent like an Aburame. She already knew that millions of their signature Kikai bugs had crawled underneath his skin, and a user can wield them at any possible time. She had heard from Hinata that Shino was not a man to be messed with, any sensible person would give up then die an unsightly death. She wiped the nervous sweat from her large forehead, also knowing that this was just a spar and the fact Shino would not dare send her a gift of chakra-eating insects to her deathbed.

But still…it was _creepy_.

She nibbled on her lower lip with her front teeth, and slipped her hand into her pouch that was strapped on her belt. She fingered at least two scrolls, three explosive tags, two dozen shuriken, and only about ten kunais. Her head began to calculate the many jutsus she could possibly use against Shino. Okay, he's good at Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, but he's a little weak in Genjutsu…she had advantages in that. He most likely would need to get close to her for the bugs to take control of her chakra. She would not be able to securely use offensive medical techniques because then she has to get close to the Kikai…so it must a mid-range or long-range fighting. But how to avoid the bugs…

Sakura blew away an annoying pink hair, and bent her legs, shifting her sandaled feet towards a stoic Shino. Neji and Tobio speculated the two fighters, patiently waiting for her to start. Neji had long ago snapped on his Byakugan. The jinx watched with wide eyes and a childish, quite foolish, curiosity. With concentrated breathing and chakra flow in her veins pumping in her entire system, she closed her eyes.

Quick movements of her gloved hands began immediately, as black bugs began to appear from Shino's thick sleeves. She murmured the hand signs of each traditional Zodiac animal: "Boar. Sheep. Bird."

And ablaze with green chakra surrounded her hands, she growled out the words, "_Chakra Detachment no Jutsu!_"

_A Medical Ninjutsu_, Neji thought to himself, _a risky move Haruno_.

She ran head first towards Shino with glimmering hands. Shino swiftly moved to his left and skillfully threw his horde of bugs on her form. She disappeared to her right and came running towards him with fierce emerald eyes. When her hand came close to Shino's chest, aiming to detach all his chakra vessels from his chest, he quickly unzipped the front of his coat. Hundreds of buzzing insects flowed out like a black tsunami breaking a dam.

Sakura widened her eyes and turning on her hands, slipping between Shino's spread legs. Not a bug got on her.

Scraps of nails on the earth had her Ninjutsu hands create deep creases into folded dirt like scars.

Dust surrounded her, making her cough and wheeze in an unpleasant way.

When she threw herself back up, she was faced with two new Shinos. His bugs began to form his Kikai Clones. She looked at each clone, not a single mistake on each one. They were impeccable clones. From the vast blow off of chakra spurts she had felt in the atmosphere, she began to realize what he done. By a mixture of his Kikai release and Ninjutsu, he had created two clones with the same chakra quality as the real Shino, having only one-third of Kikai. He eased his chakra carefully and equally amongst each clone, his bugs spreading the small storage of chakra from their bodies to make an almost human spiritual feature.

Neji blinked in amazement, his veined eyes almost thought they were real.

_Must have taken him years to perfect each clone_, he thought.

Before she had realized, two Shinos ran to her with quickness and agility.

She pulled out four kunai and six shuriken, throwing two kunai and three shuriken at each clone. The weapons went through them towards the real Shino who dodged them sharply. It had created large holes in each clone's body, which his bugs had to collect and connect together like a pattern. Since the chakra spread took so much from both Shino and the Kikai to make, it took longer for just two clones to pin themselves back together. They stopped in midway, giving her much time to perform anything necessary.

She switched to scrolls, grabbing a special one from her pouch. She placed it in between her folded fingers.

Sakura made her hand signs: "Bird. Sheep. Bird. Dog."

"_Petal Rapture Summon!_" she snarled, her hair flying to her face that had brought out the deep color of her eyes.

She had quickly unrolled the scroll, a large fog of pink petals came forth from the parchment. They moved to her chakra manipulation that she had mastered, molding it outside her skin. Each petal unraveled with every click in her mind, bringing to full force on the two clones.

"Bird. Dog. Sheep. Bird." she cried. "_Petal Senbon Technique!_"

Sweat came to roll off her forehead, as she mathematically numbered all the petals in the air. With her strong flow of chakra she had send into the scroll that concentrated on the petals, she controlled each and every one of them in the blossom flood. The petals had reeled themselves into shapes of finely rolled pink cigarettes, sharpened into rosy colored needles sending full speed like senbon through the fixating bodies of the Kikai clones, dispersing them into scattering bugs. And through the fake bodies, not only did she break the chakra build in the clones, but the pink needles had sent towards Shino.

Shino's brows creased, and threw himself round in a twirl to miss them. He skidded across the dirt ground, still being able to control the bugs at a distance. The petal needles that send straight into the earth like acupunctures on old rough skin, miraculously unfolding themselves to become their normal beautiful shapes again.

He became cautious of himself, only having one-thirds of Kikai in his own body.

Shino looked forth at Sakura, who was dispatching herself off the ground when the Kikai came to attack her at their slow yet fleeting pace. She flew behind herself into a tall branch of a tree. This was a disadvantage, this action had given her more time to do her Ninjutsu. He recognized that he had get close to her.

For some reason, he began to feel quite woozy. But he ignored it.

Shino began to perform his own set of hand signs.

He had decided to try out his new jutsu. A jutsu he worked on for half a year.

She should be lucky.

"Dog. Rabbit. Bird. Boar. Bird. Dog." He achingly whispered, already feeling a splintery feeling in his two arms. He brought forth his chakra flow, holding out his own arms. Sakura watched him as he clasped his hand on his right elbow, holding wrist up. With sweat pouring from him, those specific movements of his hands, and the long list of animals he whispered, she realized he was summoning.

But what? What could he summon besides his Kikai?

Shino groaned, began tracing his middle and forefinger on his right arm invisible kanji. The fabric of his coat began to snag and a large lump something buzzing and fidgeting angrily. Neji and Tobio's eyes widened. What the hell was he doing?

The fabric of his coat exploded, bringing a spurt of his blood that smeared the front and collar of his coat. The sunglasses slid slightly from his eyes, the knuckles and tendons in his arm began to tighten painfully. Sakura gasped, literally taking an involuntary step back on the tree branch. Neji and Tobio did nothing about it, except just watching.

"_Metamorphosis Fly Dispatch no Jutsu_," Shino whispered, slightly trembling.

What they saw was not pretty, quite frankly scary—

Angry buzzing and fidgeting awoke, a giant sized insect arose from the very enclosed flesh of Shino's right arm. Giant wrinkled watery blue hue magnified to each glassy plate sets that circled each bulging lidded eyes, a snapping clasp of its green drooling mouth that clicked its feelers, a hairy wrinkled body brought forth four wet beating wings, its grasping pollen legs looked more like lobster swimmerets then its average fly cousin's limbs, and a black and brown hive formed body was rumbling and glimmering with fresh gloss like a clear armor.

Sakura gaped, immediately leaping off her branch to another tree when Kikai bugs came too close. She could not stop watching that disgusting fly that was covered in Shino's blood and tatters of his inflated coat.

The fly sent its gooey eyes in her direction, flying instantly towards her.

Sakura tried to send distraction genjutsus towards the insect, but didn't seem to work when it kept avoiding each chance she had. When it came close to her, with its buzzing and fidgeting wings, with a click of its frothing fangs, the brown and black bug had exploded into a spew of yellowy substance.

She yelped, waiting for the guck of the bug's inners to spray on her, but instead when she closed her eyes and fallen off the tree, what's left of the disgusting fly had changed into a rain of Kikai bugs that fell with her body. She was too surprised to avoid them. The insects had landed on her body, crawling around and around, inserting themselves on her pale skin and quivering within her clothes. When Sakura had landed ungracefully, all she could feel was the tiny legs of each bug on her sensitive flesh.

She gasped and closed her eyes, frightened to death.

It was just then Shino walked up to her after collecting the last two-thirds of his Kikai back into his body, he call back the rest from Sakura's trembling body. Each insect left her skin, she breathed more evenly instead of her rapid shakes of her lungs. She felt like she had just lost ten years of her life there.

A long bloody arm aid on one side with the ruin sleeve of his gray coat, Shino adjusted his sunglasses with his other hand as the Kikai began to repair the damages on his body. He watched as Tobio walked from behind him and extended a helping hand towards Sakura.

The Danno grinned lightly, smirking at the same time, "You did good."

**Intermission**

It was then the next day, Cell Twenty-Six got their first mission.

For the daimyo.

Addressed 'crucial' and possibly assigned A-type mission.

But what they weren't expecting, was that they have to—

"BIRDS!" Sakura yelled, throwing her hands on the Hokage's desk top, "WE HAVE TO FIND HIS FUCKING BIRDS?"

A hundred birds that the daimyo had lost, and had also cost him a fortune, to be exact.

**To Be Continued**

_I hope no one was creep out by the fly. _

_The bug part did freak me out a bit when I reread it, but it had inspired me to write about it because of a fan art drawing of a disgusting fly that dispatch itself from Shino's arm. It was good, I decided to write it down as a summoning._

_Until next time!_

Metamorphosis Fly Dispatch no Jutsu – Since Kikai bugs can't fly, and only move at a slow pace to a victim by the scent of a female bug or wielded by the user. Shino summons a giant fly from his arm by creating signs on his arm with tracing two fingers, a creepy insect comes forth and flies to a designated victim. Though it doesn't last long like most Summoning Animals, it carries a certain amount of an Aburame's bugs and by exploding, ending its life, it brings the bugs on top of the victim, immediately the Kikai eat away their chakra.

Chakra Detachment no Jutsu – a strong medical Ninjutsu, a user has green chakra glowing hands and when they place any hand on any part of an opponent, they are able to rip off the chakra from the chakra vessels of theirs and the opponent is unable to use that section of their chakra for molding. And, if effective, could cut their chakra supply in half.

Petal Rapture Summon – A Summoning Jutsu, Sakura calls forth a large shower of pink petals from a scroll controlled by her chakra she controls quite powerfully. Since she is able to mold chakra outside her body, she is able to control the petals at her will, putting them to Ninjutsu or Genjutsu.

Petal Senbon no Jutsu – Added with her perfect chakra control and powerful chakra molding, Sakura is able to twist every petal in the blossom shower and turn them into sharp needles in a short amount of time. With each calculated decisions in her mind, Sakura is able use them like Senbon at her will and send them at any opponent. When they cut through something, they become back to their regular petal shapes and create scattered piles of pink petals.


	15. Birds of Paradise: 1:43 pm

**Disclaimer: **Please, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow**

**Summary:** (Sequel of Backstabbing Love) In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men. And everyone else seems to be putting up some bets.

**_AN_:** WARNING! LIVELOVELAUGH'S RANT: _Stop bashing Sakura or any of the other characters!_ It's not fair. Take the advice from a local artist, I hate it when my writing is being criticized by _fucking_ retards who spend their pathetic lives dwelling in their sorry depression or whatever shit they've been through, that they are causing so much more mayhem when they actually _think_ they're helping but are not—they bash others when they have issues themselves. I hate fuckers like bashers, flamers, and lousy critics—it was probably the only reason why I even start writing! Why I even exist on earth! Why I have to deal with fucking dumbasses day and night! They know nothing of talent! Of art! Of self-expression! Of anything! And if you are at all going to flame someone, please Dear God use CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM! OF COURSE you're _not_ going like something you like on this site! You are supposed to bash those who DESERVE IT. And therefore go on and might as well bash _yourselves_.

If you bash Sakura or any of the Naruto characters, you are thereby insulting Kishimoto Masashi's work. _Idiots_.

(_Authoress takes a breather_)

(_Looks up_)

(_Smiles_)

Please enjoy this update.

Birds of _Paradise_: 1:43 pm

With careful hands, she pulled the last half of her brown hair into another small bun on top of her head. A perfect line was combed straight into two halves of dark locks, two shorter bunches of bangs had hung over her neatly tied hitae-ate, gleaming with pride and clear polish she had rubbed on with a white linen handkerchief. Tenten smiled in her mirror, pulling the ends of her soft russet training blouse to inspect any possible wrinkles. She correctly checked her weaponry and scrolls in her pouch tied to her leather belt. She folded up her black trousers, her tan feet and ankles were hooked on with buckled brown heels (like the black ones her idol wore).

Tenten was about to turn the knob, when the doorbell rung. She cocked her brow, unlocking the door and only to be appraised with what seemed like—

**FEEL BETTER TENTEN-SAN! **

**GET WELL! HEAL FAST! **

**GOOD LUCK! **

—yup, folks: Three giant striped balloons with large bold shiny lettering, held by three long strings tied to a ridiculous stuffed teddy bear dressed in a doctor's outfit, who was being carried in a basket of flowers, cough medicine, bandages, acupuncture tools made of bamboo, headache and stomachache pills, and a greeting card made of cream-colored construction paper.

She was literally stunned, lifting up the basket. The balloon rose and touched the top of her apartment roof, Tenten read their writing and sweat-dropped. Oh Lord—

She opened up the card, with quickly scribbled handwriting in pencil:

_To Tenten-san:_

_I hope you feel better! I must have checked all the medical books Sakura-san had in her library for that sickness you have. But I wasn't able to find any! Since you seem to have all the symptoms, I was incredibly frightened that you might have testosterone cancer—but Sakura-san said you aren't able to have that. So I wanted to make you feel all better but getting you this gift basket! Good luck for your health! Gai-sensei said that illness and youth do match! So he recommends lots of liquids and rest! He is so intelligent—_

Tenten spotted some teardrop stains on the letter. She grimaced.

—_And since I'm all cured from the wounds, Naruto-kun was able to tell me you had also had your sights set on a certain context of 'hooking up'. I have no idea what that means but I am able to tell you that I hope you can hook up with a bunch of people! Make new friends! Make new training partners! And also I am always here if you want to 'hook up'! _

_Good luck on your plans Tenten-san!_

_Sincerely Rock Lee._

She gawked at the letter, blushing like crazy. Her ears were hot and she stuttered with shivers running up and down her spine. That stupid Lee! He almost made her sound like she was diseased with a chronic genital cancer that only men were supposed to have! He made it sound like she was ill with every sickness in the book. It was sweet that he went through all that trouble—but he's crazy! A wave of redness crossed her cheeks. Now Sakura-san, Naruto, _and_ Gai know! She didn't want _those_ people to know that she's having troubles in her single life! Tenten gaped at the words 'hooking up'! Didn't everyone know what it meant? Didn't everyone know what it's supposed to mean! He still probably thinks 'hooking up' is like _hanging out_—which it isn't!—God! Tenten's face flushed of all color—_hook up_ with him? Is he retarded or something? Even if Lee is too innocent and kind—he almost made her become some kind of slut! HER? _Hooking up with a bunch of people_—he's insane—wait—what-if—what if Lee tells EVERYONE about-about her p-plans?

**This was not how she planned her day!**

Tenten squealed and threw the gift basket fanatically over her shoulder, slamming the door shut and running in the streets like a maniac in search of the spandex-clad boy. He must have had delivered the basket himself! He must be walking away with a happy sappy smile stapled on his dumb face, happy and youthful because he 'cured' his teammate—he can't be that far! Oh _Gods_—that crazy mofo is going to get her into a world of _embarrassment!_

"LEE! YOU IDIOT! _COME BACK!_"

**

* * *

**

The bed felt so empty without her. It had already one day, and he felt miserable.

Shikamaru sighed, fingering the green sheets of his small mattress. A thin layer of a five o'clock shadow had taken place around his chin, he pushed his back against the headboard scratching his shoulder-length tresses to get that annoying itch on his crown. He pulled the sheets away from his legs, and went to make some breakfast. Not bothering to turn on the lights, he walked into the slightly messy kitchen with cereal boxes and takeout bags and containers strewed around the counters. While he took out a carton of white eggs and a full carton of 2 reduced fat milk from the refrigerator, the phone rang.

He picked up the phone and nudged it in between his shoulder juncture and ear.

"…hello?" he replied rudely, patting the back of his pajama bottoms. He carefully cracked the egg shells on a small porcelain bowl, watching the perfect yellowy egg white and yolk fall and he threw the shells into the sink.

"_S-Shikamaru-san?_"

"Hinata? Why are you calling so early—" his narrow eyes darted to the stove clock. He sweat-dropped, "—at one fifty?"

"_You s-see, I kind of k-know that I-Ino is angry at you…_"

"Hn, I would have known you did since you were still in your bedroom," Shikamaru snorted, scrabbling up the egg mess with a fork.

"_Y-Yeah, but m-maybe you should…um, t-talk to her…it's b-been a day since y-you seen her_," she sighed, "_I-It wouldn't h-hurt._"

"I know." The lazy ass inserted the yolks into the heated frying pan, already sizzling.

"_Y-You do…?_" Hinata blinked a couple of times, "_T-Then why_—"

Shikamaru let out a loud yawn, pouring himself a glass of cold milk, "Not today, Hinata, I'm too tired from yesterday's mission."

"_B-But all y-you did was escorting the n-new daimyo to the Hokage-sama_—"

"It was hard and very troublesome work, Hinata, his damn sister kept running off."

"_B-But Ino…? What a-about her_—"

Nara slapped his spatula on the dusty counter, "Hinata, let me ask you a question. Just a small question, okay?"

"_U-Uh I-I—_"

"Have you ever feel like you are the sole person that has fix everything in a relationship when all your other half does is moan and groan—maybe even bitch about the pettiest things, then they look at you like you are the problem, hm? Have you ever wished they took part of the responsibility and work on the things a couple has with you instead of wishing for things that might not even happen?"

"_T-That's two q-questions_," Hinata said stupidly. Yeah, she felt that way before.

"Whatever, I don't feel like 'counting' today," Shikamaru turned off the stove, taking his plate of scrabble in his hand, "Hinata, I also need to ask you something again."

"_O-Okay_…"

He stuck a fork in his eggs, "Sakura usually calls me about Ino, why are 'you' calling?"

There was a soft silence over the line, Hinata was only breathing into the receiver with shivering hands grasped onto her phone. She panicked, her voice was trembling. He knew. He knew why she called. Damn it.

"I-It's about N-Naruto-k-kun…" Hinata bit her lip, "H-He said s-something weird to m-me two d-days ago…"

**

* * *

**

The feathers were delicate and white, Sakura felt them when she carefully plucked a dove from a thorn bush. The little bird cooed and fluffed its wings, she held it close and safely so she wouldn't crush it and it wouldn't fly away. She smiled lightly, noting how cute it was. She quickly stepped out of the briar patch, walking towards her basket of fluttering birds that were all chirping and peeping. So far she had found more than a dozen birds in this part of the forest, as she counted. Sakura locked the bamboo doors shut, grabbed on the handle and flew off to a tree branch.

She tapped on her wireless communication, wrapped around her slender neck and over her left ear.

"I found my birds, but only seventeen," Sakura sighed.

"_Oh good! I only found five in my section…_" Tobio groaned, "_Those things are so hard to find! Good thing they're white!_"

"Yeah…" Sakura tapped on her neck again, "How about you guys?"

"_About twenty. My section has plenty,_" Shino murmured monotone, _"My Kikai told me there are five west of your district, Neji._"

"_Okay, I'll be right on it_," Neji counted the birds quietly to himself, "_I only have thirteen._"

"I'll come over, my clearing is fresh out," Sakura looked back while she leaped towards the other side of the large forests, "It's too cold over here for the birds, I wish I bought my coat."

"_Hm,_" Shino nodded, tapping to the jinx, "_I'll help Tobio_. _My Kikai says he has about thirty he hasn't caught yet_."

Neji snorted loudly.

"_That many!_" Tobio scowled, "_Ah! I can't have missed that much! Maybe I should set up some traps_—"

"_You'll do no such thing_," Neji ordered, putting down his hand, "_These birds can not be harmed_."

"_Hey! Who says my traps can hurt them_—"

"_Plenty of people_," Neji tapped his device to the only female, "_Haruno, I need you to get over my section right now_."

Sakura growled angrily, "I'm making a trip over there!"

"_Sakura-san, the Kikai says you're heading north_," Shino pointed out.

She looked forward, and slapped her giant forehead. She swung around a thick branch, the birds chirping in her basket, while she pumped her muscles to work to the right direction.

"I hate this mission with all my being," the pink-haired woman muttered, her device still on.

"_That's a very romantic story, Haruno_," Neji bellowed sarcastically, "_I need you here now!_"

"In and out, captain!"

**

* * *

**

"Oi," a girl with brown hair tapped her teammate's shoulder, "Did you hear that the daimyo's little sister ran away from the Hokage's Tower?"

"I did," the second girl murmured, "I hear she is very reckless. She must be causing trouble right now."

"I know," the first speaker leaned in closer, "But I also heard she's a pretty girl with nice red hair and around our age!"

"You're kidding!" the two girls burst into giggles, and began to gossip more.

"Yo, Hanabi! I need you to check something out!"

She sighed aggravatingly, getting up from her seat on the boulder, "When my sensei said there would be a substitute ninja for us today, she didn't mean for the new teacher to be taught by her students!" Hanabi growled.

"Ha! Such a bitch!" Kiba laughed, rubbing his knuckles on top of his teammate's younger sister's head. The Hyuuga girl bit back insults, folding her arms across her chest with an irritated huff. Her other two teammates giggled, and followed the loud Inuzuka member and his cute white dog who they cooed and petted endlessly.

Hanabi groaned, rubbing her temples fiercely.

"_Deranged morons_…" she muttered, walking a foot behind the mutt Jounin to a certain clearing.

Kiba stepped up on a slate of rock, urgently sniffing the air. He looked into the forest boundaries, the shadows of the leaves moved slightly to the wind which intertwine a sort of strange scent. Like Brussels sprouts, or something. He scrunched up his nose from the pungent smell, snapping his clawed fingers at the Chuunin, calling her over like a child.

"Over there…" he whispered sluggishly, his slit eyes glancing slightly at the thirteen year old.

Hanabi nodded, snapping on her powerful Byakugan. Spindly veins formed around her smooth cheeks, dilating her white pupils. A conscious dome formed from her inner chakra vessels, there she saw a figure coming closer to them. The two strands of dark hair that hung in front, slowly moved down her pale face. Strong concentration irate the young girl, her two teammates were alarmed by the aura that surfaced around the clearing, bringing out their kunai and shuriken readily.

Kiba let out a low whistle, Akamaru whined quietly.

"Huh?"

With a confused marred look, she stood up from her trance. Hanabi's slender brows lifted up, curving into her hairline.

"What is it, Hana-chan?" the brunette girl asked from behind, sweat rising from her skin pores.

"It…it's just a girl…" Hanabi murmured, stunned.

A rustle of leaves and grass, the deep pastel colors of sea-green and plum emerged from the thick forest. The shadows had covered and arranged the face of a shorter girl. A glimmer of the sunlight had shined on the little petals of a red four-leafed clover clenched in her finely manicured hands. Radiant hair of green and blue had flowed with the hues of the woods, bringing upon two pure eyes of turquoise. A small nimble foot stuck out, strapped on with mauve woolen socks and small-heeled magenta shoes stepped on the short cut grass and brown earth dirt.

"Are you Hidden Leaf ninjas?" she asked desperately, clutching the small red flower close to her chest.

The curly-haired teammate replied, "Yeah…"

"Oh!" A large toothy smile showed, "Thank goodness! My name is Yoshino Kaede! I need to see Konohamaru-kun right now!"

**To Be Continued**

_Yoshino Kaede is not an OC. If you don't know who she is, you can find out next chapter, I think…_

_Sorry, I had to put more Tenten and Lee moments, they're so funny haha. A little dash of Shikamaru and Hinata, with a cup of Cell Twenty Six, and a little pinch of Kiba and Hanabi! Please wait patiently for the next update!_


	16. Caged Bird: Time Stop

**Disclaimer: **Don't make me laugh, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.

Penname: _LiveLoveLaugh_

FanFiction Story: **Such Sweet Sorrow**

**Summary:** (Sequel of Backstabbing Love) In the Wheel of Fortune, Sakura tries her luck on men. But it seems everyone else is putting up some bets.

**_AN_:** Right now, I'm listening to one of my favorite songs, and while I went into a trance where my head was bobbing with my hair flying to my face, all I had thought of was the rhythm to the next chapter. It took me a week to back to my groove! Even though I knew what to write, I can't seem to grab that _feeling!_ So when I went through my old music, I found this baby: _Message in a Bottle_ by _Police_, and now I know what to do! Enjoy!

_Caged_ Bird: Time Stop

The creek had smelled of water and forest, the dampened earth was almost a dark brown with the speckled gray pebbles and larger slates of rocks that curved around the slender bay. There was a small jetty, its wooden planks nailed together was damp and splintery. The section of this forest wasn't very visited by the residents of Hidden Leaf, when life had thrived only within the village that only shinobis had walked into the woods.

They planted the giant bamboo cage on the grassy stub by the narrow shallow river, resting for the hour before the two teammates could meet up with the rest of the team. The white doves twittered within, knocking to each other as they tried to look outside to meet the moist hot air of late summer.

"It's a great day isn't it!" the young woman cried, her voice echoed as she threw back her long unbound pink hair.

Her comrade did not answer back, she didn't really mind since she had always respected his bastard-like silence (At the same time, hating it).

The young man had propped himself on the gray-white boulder by the slow running waters, staring at his blemishing reflection in the creek which almost made him feel like he was looking into a funhouse mirror. He would have killed himself if his thigh and nose had expanded far greater than the rest of his body, like a bloating hot air balloon of some sort, turning his face and torso into lopsided pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

His female companion had walked quietly with curiosity smothered into the green pools of her eyes, she knelt down towards the cage where they placed all the birds they found and fingered one the feathers that had fallen on the dew grass. It was small, so pure white it had almost appeared blue and slightly green when the fibers had touched the wet pasture. She picked it up in her black gloved hand, memorizing the elegant shape.

She smiled, turning her face to his seated form.

"They're pretty, aren't they…?"

The older ninja turned his head, staring only for a short moment.

"I suppose…" he murmured, turning back to the creek.

"You're not even looking!" she pouted.

He took a gulp of thirst-quenching water from his plastic bottle before turning back to glare at her, showing his annoyance and irritation at the 'charmingly wide' fore-headed girl. His white eyes moved to look past the female to the birds, and only the birds in the cage.

He watched each one intertwined their forms together in the closed cage, hobbling their feet over each one's white feathers as if claiming post for the locked gate yet to be opened. Their singsong chirps and impatient peeps almost had hitches of slight yelps, pecking their triangular curved beaks against the greenish tan bamboo bordering, clicking towards the two humans who sat tiredly for a break close by. Their wings, almost like fans, beat against each other hastily. Their liquid dark eyes seemed to glimmer white when it hit the sunlight that shined on the small hill by the forest creek.

He was still looking.

The cage almost resembled fencing, with its crisscrossing borders and holes small enough to enclose the fluttering birds. Their white beautiful wings beat rapidly as if creating tornadoes, winds strong enough to knock it down or something. Their weak battle formations had turmoil over when they kept climbing on each other. Like something was holding them back.

His eyes stayed on them.

One bird had its clawed feet stuck on its friend, squeaking and chirping while flying tightly and bumping to other birds. Their chirping and peeping, the little sounds they made instead of singing their soothing lullabies, had turned into small screams. He heard them screaming, as if help was needed that they needed help. For a moment, it almost made him wonder if it was indeed a bird's wing was to be mended. Was it that? Where a doctor would be needed?

He looked up to see the girl whose back was to him.

Her pastel pink hair had sprawled against the dark red of her training blouse. Her knees had dug into the hard yet soft ground. Her elbows were moving with her steady hands, revealing that a green knapsack was in front of her. A fly of a zipper had torn through the small bird-chirping water-running silence. Hard in concentration, she was double-checking the supplies. She laid out several bandages, ointment, antidotes, some of her weapons, everything she needed. Maybe she _knew_ a bird needs mending, maybe that's why she's checking. When she turned only a small fraction to pick up a bandage roll, her hair fell to one side, covering her left shoulder. A white circle was etched on the upper small of her back, like a target.

A perfect target where one hidden enemy could have easy access in throwing a kunai and killing her at that point. He consciously arched his back, feeling that empty void at the same exact spot. His blind spot.

Stupid girl. Stupid clan. What kind of moron would have a bull's eye shot for a symbol?

His mind drift over the thought of that crippled man. Stupid cripple.

His eyes moved over her back, to the white circle, the red of her blouse, to the bend of her back, the fallen clumps of hair on her left shoulder, to the bump of her bra strap, he had only listened to the screaming of the doves. He darted his stare to the fluttering birds, one bird was pecking its ivory beak against the large heavy lock strapped around the bamboo bars. The pale yellow of its hard mouth had disappeared into the shadow of the keyhole. _What's it trying to do?_ The lock is too heavy, it can never break out.

He watched, for that long moment, as the bird was in disarray, already beating its wings impatiently. Its beak was too small, and the keyhole was too deep. The young man closed his eyes, foolish idiot animal, too dumb for its kind. Sometimes he wondered if the birds would just go into extinction.

And with a screech within the bunched group of the doves, another stubborn bird had pushed the failed loser out of its way. He watched with amazement. The second bird shoved its slightly bigger beak into the keyhole of the metal lock. It quickly clicked its way through the deep shadows. It was unable to do any good that other birds around the door had begun to scream and stab their beaks against the lock. It was only a several desperate birds, he noted, the others seem to have stayed behind and watch the spectacle with fond dumbness, or being trampled on when they tried to poke their heads through much smaller openings of the cage.

The ornamental bamboo cage was too heavy for a few dozen birds to move around, but it shook. In that small shake of the cage, his breath was hitched too like their yelps and screams through the innocent chirping and peeping. Fluttering of wings went around, camouflaging each and every bird into large combined clump of white feathers like scurried arrangements of polar bear fur.

_What are they trying to prove?_ He thought earnestly, wanting to know, wanting to learn. Stupid animals, mindless birds in their majestic forms, what are they trying to do? Are they hungry? Are they thirsty? Are they still hurt—?

_Where is that medic-nin?_ Didn't she know? Can't she hear their screams, their cries of help and need, their craving to leave the cage? His eyes turned to the young woman who had now zipped up her green backpack, smiling in glee when she bit into a Red Delicious apple. He watched her greedy mouth devour the fruit, small juices spurt around her pink lips and straight white teeth. The crisp crunching, he stared, she swallowed the pieces down her white neck while taking another bite.

He looked at her mortified. She didn't see. She didn't hear the doves screaming, yelling at her and him for help, for salvation. That is why she packed everything away, only eating an apple right next to the cage when the birds were starving and thirsty, dying even.

They were prisoners in the cage, they hated it. They loathed their masters. They despised their place in life. The second bird had fiercely pecking its way into the keyhole with about three or four others biting into the thick handle, to loosen it, to break through even when they were weak. The first bird he had saw had itself pushing its way to the second bird, which was much bigger in size. They glared at each other. And in an instant, they pecked each other.

_What are they doing? _

In his widening shaking gray-white eyes, it was a battle for survival. Birds, one by two, by three, were being stepped on and warring against each other with hate in their liquid black eyes. Screaming went around, yelling and battle cries had plunged into his ear drums, vibrating with such velocity.

No, they can't hate each other. They want the same things, they can't hate each other. They can't just kill each other. No, they can't do that. That would be murder. That would be homicide, genocide. Not each other. The doves, those mindless unforgivable creatures, they needed to get out. That craving, that want, that desperation they showed in themselves had turned greedy and hateful as they fought one and other in a battle.

Not their wings, their beautiful white wings. He saw in their eyes, crimson blood that must have dirtied their purity. The need to get out, even when fate had sealed within the cage. They were slaves, they're not allowed to get out. Stop screaming. Stop fighting. No, _stop it_, you can't do that.

Not each other, don't kill yourselves! _You all want the same things!_ He looked on horrified, his heart beating with every beat of their battling wings. They have to stop this! If no one was stopping this madness then—

He dropped his water canteen from his tight grip. It had made a nasty fall on the jagged rocks, a stream of glistening water had poured out from the opening. The screaming was still going on. He stalked almost blindly towards the ornamental cage. His ears were numb and his mouth was dry and haggardly breathing. His teammate looked up, biting on the sticky core of the apple she had eaten, with a moistened smile, she greeted his prone form.

She wrapped a clean napkin around the core, throwing it into her knapsack, "Hey! Finally you're done resting!" Her words came out from her mouth like throw-up, she was grinning, "If you're ready to leave, let's go. I think Shino and Tobio might need a _little_ help, seeing that his bad luck spell is still in full mode, if you know what I mean—"

"Be quiet, woman," he growled, his hands were clenched.

Her face contorted, then turned into anger, "What is your problem, Neji! I'm just trying to be—"

"Shut up, just give me the key," he held out a trembling hand.

"Key? What k—"

"The damn key to that cage!" he roared, screaming like the birds. She staggered on her feet.

"Why are you yelling!" she bit back, her eyes were slightly fearful, "What's wrong with you…?"

All she could see was this towering man with his blazing eyes, a killer intent with that horrible vein that marred his temple. She reach out to touch his shoulder until her fellow shinobi made a step forward, stopping her caring motives. She had tried to soothe herself with the sounds of the chirping of the doves, but he didn't seem to like their singsong voices. His voice was deep and trembling like his outstretched hand, sadness and desperation had covered his paling face.

"Give me the key," he ordered, struggling not to launch on her.

She wanted to know, she wanted to see what he saw that she didn't seem to be able to, "Neji—"

"If you don't have it, give your kunai," he order, his teeth clenched.

"Neji? What's the matter—"

"GODDAMN IT WOMAN! GIVE ME SOMETHING!"

"Ne—"

"FUCK!" he swiftly pulled out a throwing dagger in a flash, holding in a threatening way, in a way an attacker would cut a victim.

She gasped, stumbling on her feet. She flew a yard away from this crazed man, watching and waiting for that treacherous blow. He raised the kunai and stabbed—into the cage. She screamed like the doves he heard, she saw the shearing of greenish tan bamboo splinters and the heated halves of the metal lock had fallen from the bird cage. He threw away the kunai, missing her body by inches. With claws for hands, she watched astounded when he tore through the door.

When the birds had stopped fighting, when the sounds of screaming had soon died down, he gloried in the silence and he staggered away from the cage and he watched, as she was looking, at the scene he had created. His hand reached into the hood of his long dark hair, loosening the strands of his black forehead protector.

As if something in this action had told the tale of his own.

She watched through the wings of the birds, her hair flying with the wind they made, she saw his gleaming, now impassive silver-white eyes. In a whirl of that strong breeze, when the birds had disappeared, so did his hitae-ate. Seeing that carved green seal on his forehead, that lonesome sadness had washed over his face when she was startled by his actions.

She was caught in her breath, gripping her hands into curled fists on her chest. Those birds…that cage…

_She didn't know…_

Birds, beautiful birds. So many of them had flown out with happiness in their beady eyes, something he had done had reflected on his face. A pure childish smile had crossed his brightened face, raising his pale face to the sun that gleamed on the creek pasture and forest clearing. She watched on with wide emerald eyes, her pink lips parted when the birds flew form the broken cage restraints in between her and that distant man she thought was a bastard.

White doves had flown towards the golden orb, into the blue sky, their wings beating to feel that freedom.

They just failed their mission.

**To Be Continued**

_Here goes your chapter! Thank you for reading! Now wait patiently for the next chapter!_

'Heh, even a captured bird, if it's clever enough, will try to open the cage with its beak. Never giving up, its desire to fly freely in the sky…this time you lose…' –Quote by Shiranui Genma, to Neji (_Ha, my inspiration for the chapter_)


End file.
